


Marigolds In The Wind

by Nagitos_mittens



Category: Danganronpa
Genre: Angst, Crying, Jealousy, Komaeda Nagito Is Obsessed With Hope, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn, Super Dangan Ronpa 2 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:01:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 49,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26186083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nagitos_mittens/pseuds/Nagitos_mittens
Summary: Nagito can’t stop thinking about Hajime. Ever since they first met on the island, Nagito could barely stop himself from following him everywhere. Hajime practically lived rent free in Nagito’s mind when he was alone, even if it was only subconsciously. Nagito knows there’s something more to his and Hajime’s relationship, but he doesn’t know how exactly to put it into words.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito
Comments: 56
Kudos: 390





	1. Chapter 1

Ever since Nagito had first met Hajime, he was immediately invested in him. He knew for a fact that he might've come off as clingy when he followed Hajime around the island their first day together. But now that he'd shown Hajime and everyone else his uglier side during the first trial, he felt like their relationship had been barred off. It had hit Nagito hard when he saw the look on Hajime's face. It hurt, but Nagito just continued to wear his same carefree smile, knowing it'd just be futile to continue to worry about it.

Except he couldn't stop worrying about it.

Nagito was able to push the thoughts away for a bit, but after being tied up and left in the old hotel, it was all he could think about. Hajime, Hajime, Hajime. The boy's name continued to run through his head. Nagito groaned at the thought, rolling around to try and push the thoughts away. When he heard the door open though, he sat up. As much as he was actively trying to avoid and forget Hajime, he smiled wide when he saw him. 

"Hajime...?" He said, the smile on his face only getting bigger, "could it be...? Did you take time out of your busy day to bring some food to little old me?"

Nagito realized his tone and the disgusted look on Hajime's face. Despite that, he continued, too happy to worry about it.

"Wow, I'm so happy!" Nagito giggled softly, "as you can see, I can't exactly greet you with my full hospitality... but feel free to relax."

Nagito and Hajime sat in silence for a minute and Nagito watched as Hajime's eyebrows furrowed.

"Huh, what happened? Your face looks kinda scary" Nagito raised an eyebrow.

Finally Hajime spoke up, "I didn't come here to talk to you... I just came to bring you some food."

Hajime's words sounded colder than usual. It saddened Nagito a little, but he reminded himself why this happened. It was his fault, he knew it. He cursed himself in his head, knowing things probably wouldn't have turned out this way if he had kept his cool. 

After Hajime set the food on the floor, Nagito just stared at it. This made Hajime impatient, trying to get Nagito to hurry up, "so come on, eat it."

Nagito looked up to Hajime, just letting whatever come out of his mouth. It's not like it mattered now that Hajime hated him, "huh? You're not going to feed me?"

"Wh-what do you mean!?" Hajime looked a little taken aback by Nagito's question.

"Well, I can't eat it on my own. You know, since my hands are all tied up..." Nagito explained. It made sense to him at least, "actually, I was really embarrassed to ask a girl to feed me, so I'm glad you're the one who came."

Hajime looked like he was thinking, so Nagito waited until some of his facial features relaxed to continue speaking.

"Anyway... what happened to Mahiru? Did she leave saying she had some business to take care of?" Nagito asked.

Hajime looked almost shocked, "huh? Why do you know that?"

Nagito chuckled softly, continuing on, "by the way, I heard about... Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, was it? I have mixed feelings... I really liked that game a lot"

"D-Don't change the subject! I'm asking you-" 

"Oh well, I'm a little disappointed," Nagito said, his rambling seemed to help push away his thoughts about Hajime, "it's not like you Ultimates to ignore the threat that's standing right in front of you. So are you really planning not to play the game? Do you think Monokuma will just let that slide?"

Hajime seemed to be at a lost for words, his eyes wandering the room as he spoke, "w-well... that is..."

"You guys should confront it... After all, hope springs when you confront despair." Nagito said, smiling to Hajime.

Hajime started back at Nagito, seeming to be lost in thought again. When he spoke up though, it was almost saddening to Nagito, "I don't want to be tricked by you anymore. Bye now"

Nagito sat up when Hajime turned around, "ah, hey Hajime? Weren't you planning to feed me?"

Hajime looked back to Nagito, giving him an opportunity to speak.

"Please? I'm really hungry and it's hard to eat without access to my hands," Nagito looked up to Hajime, "I'll shut up, I promise..."

Hajime looked to Nagito for a moment, then he sighed while his face softened, "fine... sit up."

Nagito nodded and sat up for Hajime, "thank you Hajime, I'll be forever in your debt..." he smiled, scooting towards Hajime.

"Well it'd be no good if you starved to death... Monokuma would probably find a way to call it a murder," Hajime said, taking some of the food off the tray and brought it to Nagito's mouth, "open up..."

Nagito opened his mouth, eating the food as Hajime fed him. He smiled softly, this was probably the closest he'd ever been to Hajime. The food was pretty good too, so that kept Nagito pretty happy. 

While he ate, Nagito looked back to Hajime, "could you come again tomorrow?"

"Maybe, I can't guarantee anything." Hajime said softly.

"Oh of course!" Nagito chuckled, "I'm sure you have much more important things to do than bring me food."

Hajime just nodded, finishing up Nagito's food. He took the tray and stood up, "happy?"

"Yes! Thank you Hajime, thank you!" Nagito smiled.

Then Hajime turned and left. As soon as the door shut, Nagito's smile dropped. He laid back onto the floor and sighed. Hajime always knew how to make Nagito happy, even if he insulted him. And now that he was gone, the constant thought of Hajime returned to him. Everything from his soft-looking hair, to his snappy attitude, everything Hajime did made his heart flutter. Nagito squeezed his eyes shut, he was going to give himself a heart attack from thinking about Hajime. He sat up again, groaning softly to himself. He attempted to force Hajime out of his head, but even a small idea could send him spiralling back down into about 10 more new thoughts about the boy. Is his hair really as soft as he thought? What does a hug from him feel like? 

"Stop it..." Nagito mumbled to himself. He was sick of all of this, he just wanted to stare off into space in peace without any interruptions.

But his groans and scowl soon turned into a smile. He giggled softly, "Hajime actually fed me... I feel quite special..." he said to himself.

Nagito gave up forgetting about Hajime. He giggled and let anything and everything about Hajime take over his thoughts. His head hung back as Nagito's fantasies ran wild in his head. He had a clear visualization of Hajime in his head. He started from the bottom and worked his way up. His shoes made him chuckle a little, they were so casual for the nice school uniform he was wearing, but they were quite functional. Nagito smiled as he moved up Hajime's body. He wondered what it'd be like to hug him or just hold him. Are his hands soft? Nagito wanted to find out. Then his face, oh Hajime's face... Hajime always had such a serious look on his face, but when Hajime smiled it seemed that all of his features would suddenly soften. When Hajime smiled Nagito couldn't help but stare. Nagito laid on his side and sighed happily, maybe these thoughts weren't as bad as he thought. 

"Oh Hajime... I hope I can get to know you better soon..." Nagito smiled softly, closing his eyes. Maybe he could finally get some rest.


	2. Chapter 2

After Nagito was untied and let free, he tried to stay around Hajime as much as he could. He didn't want to come off as stalkerish, but he still took any opportunity he got. But when Hajime asked him to hang out, that really threw him for a loop.

He thought Hajime hated him. Even if they were together often, Nagito thought he wasn't doing much more than being a bother to him. But when he was asked, he couldn't say no. For once Hajime's smile was directed towards him, making Nagito happier than ever before. It made him all giddy inside. He got crazy butterflies in his stomach and he'd smile wide. He could jump up and down in excitement just from Hajime looking his way in a positive light, but he was able to hold himself back, he didn't want to be too embarrassing. 

The two of them wandered around the hotel grounds, talking about lots of things. Nagito would mainly go on about hope as usual, and Hajime seemed to actually be engaged in the conversation.

"What do you think hope is?" Nagito asked, looking over to Hajime. 

"Hm, hope is..." Hajime stopped walking for a moment to think. Then he looked back to Nagito, "hope is absolute good...?"

"Yes! Yes, that's right!" Nagito smiled and clapped his hands together, "and all of you guys have the potential to embody it...! You understand, right? Hope is a positive force, everything created by it is absolute good!"

Nagito was so happy, it looked like Hajime was starting to get him. Maybe they could start to grow closer now. That thought filled Nagito with pure joy. That's all he wanted, he just wanted someone that understood him. He just wanted someone to care about him, and he hoped Hajime would be the one.

After a short silence between the two of them, Nagito spoke up again, "well, shall we continue?" 

"Ah- sure" Hajime nodded, "do you want to stay here?"

"How about we go to the beach?" Nagito suggested, heading towards the gates of the hotel.

Hajime nodded, "alright, let's go..."

Nagito smiled wide as the two of them left the hotel grounds and headed towards the beach. He wondered what Hajime was thinking right now. Nagito hoped Hajime had nice thoughts. But then his smile dropped for a moment, was he annoying Hajime at all? He knew he tended to push others away, so why wouldn't it be the same for Hajime? But Nagito just attempted to push those thoughts away and put a smile back on his face. 

Once they made it to the beach, Nagito looked out at the ocean, "it's pretty out there, don't you think?"

Hajime stood beside Nagito, "hm... yeah, I guess..."

"I like pretty things..." Nagito said softly, "I don't know what it is about water and oceans... they're just so pretty..."

"Yeah..." Hajime nodded. He personally found the ocean a little unsettling, but he could see where Nagito was coming from.

Nagito sighed happily and pulled his jacket off, putting it down on the ground and sitting on top of it. He crossed his legs and leaned onto his hands. Then he looked up to Hajime, "you wanna sit too?"

Hajime looked to Nagito as he scoot over, leaving some of his jacket for Hajime to sit. He nodded and sat down, "uh, thanks Nagito..."

"No problem!" Nagito smiled, "it's the least I can do for you asking me to hang out... I almost feel undeserving of your time, the fact that you're sitting close to me is an honour really..."

Nagito could've gone on and on about why he was undeserving of being around Hajime. Despite his attitude, he could genuinely be so kind and Nagito thought he was way too below Hajime to even be looked at. But at the same time, Nagito welcomed attention, no- he craved the attention from Hajime. He was torn, he wanted Hajime so bad, but he felt constantly held back. Nagito sighed softly to himself, he thought he'd at least enjoy their time for now. 

"Well, I guess I want to try and understand you..." Hajime looked to Nagito, "you seem interesting... but I also want to learn more about you"

"Really? That's even more honourable..." Nagito giggled softly, "well, I hope that I'm not too confusing to you..."

Hajime smiled a little, "I'll do my best, I'm sure I'll be able to figure you out" he chuckled.

That was an interesting phrase to Nagito. Hajime was going to 'figure him out'. He wasn't offended or anything, but it was interesting to him. It actually made Nagito smile, it made him sound like almost an experiment and that was pretty cool to him. 

"I like the sound of that..." Nagito chuckled, "I'll help you as best as I can to figure me out"

Hajime chuckled as well, "Alrighty then, I look forward to your help..."

Nagito smiled wide and looked to Hajime, "wow... you look forward to that? I look forward to being around you Hajime!"

Hajime smiled softly, "I bet we'll have fun"

"Yes, yes we will!" Nagito nodded, "could I... could I maybe hug you Hajime?"

"Sure..." Hajime nodded, opening his arms for Nagito.

Nagito immediately hugged him tightly. He was immediately filled with pure joy, finally he got to know how Hajime's hugs felt like. They were firm, but there was also a softness to Hajime's hugs. Nagito smiled and laid his cheek onto Hajime's shoulder. He hadn't hugged anyone in a long time, so Nagito welcomed all the good and happy feelings. 

"I'm so lucky Hajime... thank you..." Nagito said softly.

Hajime gently pulled away, "don't worry about it, you seem pretty happy" he chuckled, "I guess I'm starting to get somewhere, huh?"

"Yes! I believe so" Nagito nodded, "you're much nicer than I thought Hajime"

"Yeah?" Hajime said, starting to get up.

Nagito started to stand up as well, taking his jacket with him, "yes, you have quite the attitude normally, so it's nice to see how kind you can really be Hajime" he smiled softly.

"Well that's good, I guess" Hajime said, exhaling softly, "we should probably head back to the restaurant, it looks like it's starting to get late"

"I agree, I'm starting to get hungry" Nagito said, pulling his jacket on, "ready Hajime?"

Hajime nodded and started to walk with Nagito back towards the hotel grounds, "do you ever get hot in that jacket?"

"Mm... sometimes, but I get cold pretty easily" Nagito chuckled softly, "what about you? Don't you ever get cold with just that button up on?"

"I mean, I'm normally ok" Hajime said, "the only exception might be when it gets cold at night, but most of the time I'm in my room and in bed"

Nagito chuckled softly to himself. Hajime seemed strange to him, how could he be so warm all the time? In fact, he was a little jealous. He wanted to be warm too without his jacket. But at the same time, Nagito must've been strange to Hajime as well. 

The two of them arrived at the restaurant soon, appearing to be some of the last people there. 

"What took you guys so long? We were waiting for you yknow!" Hiyoko spoke up, "we're starving...!" She whined.

"Sorry, we just lost track of time" Hajime held his hands up in defence, "but we're here now, right? We can all eat now"

Hiyoko crossed her arms, "yeah, I guess"

Everyone got all their food for dinner and went to sit down. Nagito looked around, wondering where he should sit. Would he be overstepping if he sat with Hajime again? He shrugged a little, then went to find Hajime.

Nagito stood by the table Hajime was sat down at and leaned towards him, "is it ok if I sit here Hajime?"

Hajime looked back to where Nagito was standing, "oh, sure go ahead" he scooted over a little, giving Nagito some room.

Nagito giggled and smiled softly, sitting beside Hajime, "thank you so much Hajime, I'm truly honoured"

"You don't have to be honoured by everything I do yknow" Hajime chuckled softly.

"But I can't help it Hajime!" Nagito said, his words coming out more like a whine, "being in your presence just feels so honourable..."

"Really? Ok" Hajime said, "if you say so" he went back to eating his food.

Nagito smiled softly and started eating his own food. Even if Hajime didn't get it, Nagito would always feel honoured by Hajime. He didn't know why Hajime made him feel this way. Nagito stopped eating for a minute to think. Really, what was it about Hajime? He'd never had this kind of feeling towards anyone before, so what was special about him? He glanced over to Hajime, leaning onto his hand. Nagito was at a lost for words, he didn't know what to call this feeling towards Hajime at all. Even deep in thought though, he couldn't help but smile. It was so easy to get lost looking at Hajime. It didn't even have to be his eyes, Nagito was lost in every part of Hajime's body. Though he was soon met with a hand in front of his face.

"Earth to Nagito?" Hajime waved his hand in front of his face. 

"Hm? Oh, sorry Hajime" Nagito chuckled, picking his empty plate up, "I just zoned out"

Hajime just nodded as Nagito stood up, "are you all done?"

"Yeah, I'm going to head back to my cottage for the night" Nagito smiled softly, then went to put his plate down.

"Ok then, goodnight" Hajime waved, "thank you for today"

"Oh, don't worry about it, you made my day Hajime!" Nagito waved, before leaving the restaurant.

Nagito sighed happily as he made his way to his cottage. Once he was inside, he leaned against his door and smiled, gently sliding down the door. Nagito let his mind run wild, letting everything fall back onto Hajime. Who knew Hajime could be so nice to a no one like him? Either way, Nagito was happy. He stood up and kicked his shoes off, then went over to his bed. Nagito pulled his jacket off and laid on the bed, holding his jacket close. As embarrassing as it was, Nagito was imagining that his jacket was Hajime. But he was alone, so right now it didn't matter. He closed his eyes, maybe because of today his dreams would be sweet.


	3. Chapter 3

Nagito's dreams for the next few days ended up being pretty sweet, just like he had hoped. Of course, most of the dreams involved Hajime, and Nagito wasn't mad at that. He forgot he'd fallen asleep with his jacket the last few days as he woke up, which always caused Nagito to chuckle a little as he straightened it out. He went to breakfast that day feeling refreshed, not something he normally felt, and excited to see Hajime again.

When he arrived, the restaurant was surprisingly empty. He was a little surprised to be early there. He greeted the few people already there, then decided to get some food for himself. But while he sat and ate, his leg began to bounce underneath him. He was glad he got there early for once, but Hajime wasn't there yet.

There goes Nagito again, it's always Hajime, Hajime, Hajime and nothing else. What was wrong with him? Scratch that, there was a lot wrong with him. It was more like the question he'd asked himself nearly every day, why Hajime? There were a ton of interesting people on this island, yet Hajime seemed to be the most interesting. If he wasn't already obsessed with Hajime before, he was now. All it took was hanging out with him once and Nagito was completely infatuated. He didn't know exactly why he was suddenly so obsessed, but there was just something about Hajime. Nagito guessed he had to figure Hajime out just as Hajime was doing the same with him.

Nagito perked up when he heard Hajime's voice, turning around and looking to the entrance. He smiled when he saw the brunet in the restaurant and immediately got rid of his plate. Then he hurried over to Hajime excitedly.

"Good morning Hajime!" Nagito might've gotten a little too close to Hajime, but he was too excited to slow himself down.

Hajime jumped a little as Nagito ran over, "Oh- morning Nagito... how are you doing?"

"Ah, sorry for surprising you" Nagito chuckled, "but I'm doing good, what about you? Did you sleep well?" He asked, walking with Hajime as he got his food.

"I'm doing fine... you seem pretty energetic..." Hajime looked a little hesitant as he spoke.

"Oh yes, I slept amazingly last night! I feel great!" Nagito smiled, "would you be able to hang out today?"

"Oh sorry, not today, I'm hanging out with Chiaki today" Hajime said, going to sit down.

"Oh, ok" Nagito calmed down a little. He frowned a bit, but then put a smile on his face, "you two have fun then!" He said, before leaving the restaurant.

Nagito sighed a little as he went down the stairs from the restaurant. Today he'd have to do something different. He had a ton of ideas with Hajime, but it was ok. He couldn't hang out with Hajime all the time and sometimes he had to find other things to do. Maybe he could take a dip in the hotel's pool. Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. He went back to his cottage and found his swimsuit. As he got changed, he thought about how fun it'd be to swim with Hajime. But not now, he thought. Even if he didn't see it as a distraction, that's how he treated it. This would be like a distraction from Hajime today.

Once Nagito was all changed, he grabbed a towel. He then hurried back out towards the pool. Maybe if he was lucky enough, maybe someone else would join him. But that didn't make any sense, not to him at least. The only person even willing to spend time with Nagito so far was Hajime and he was hanging out with Chiaki. But still, it would be nice if someone would come join him.

Nagito tossed his towel aside, then slowly made his way into the pool. It was a little chilly, but he soon got used to the water. Nagito smiled as he got all the way in the pool, he hadn't realized just how warm it was outside until he got in. He floated on his back, looking up at the sky. The sun was bright, making him squint. If he really wanted to, he thought, he could just stare into the sun and blind himself. But what would that bring? Maybe some good luck, but probably not worth it in the long run. He just closed his eyes, floating along. The weightlessness of the water made Nagito feel pretty calm. It was like the rest of the world melted away, leaving Nagito there to float.

Nagito could've fallen asleep there, until someone's voice chimed in, "what are you doing here?"

Nagito's eyes popped open and he put his feet down on the ground, looking up to see who it was, "oh, Ibuki" he said, moving over to the ledge of the pool, "I can't hang out with Hajime, so I'm hanging out by myself"

"Why don't you hang out with Ibuki?" Ibuki suggested, sitting down on the ground.

"You'd hang out with someone with me?" Nagito smiled. Maybe people will finally start liking him!

"Totally dude! We both don't have anyone to hang with right now, so why not?" Ibuki smiled, standing up.

"Ok! I'm gonna get changed!" Nagito said, hurrying and getting out of the pool.

Nagito grabbed his towel and quickly started to dry himself off. Then he ran back to the cottages to get changed. Ibuki waited outside of Nagito's cottage, whistling and kicking her feet. Nagito swung the door open once he was changed, his hair still wet and his jacket falling off one shoulder. 

"Where are we going?" Nagito asked, fixing his clothes and combing his hair out of his face with his hands.

"Let's head to the beach! I'll look cool to play the guitar there" Ibuki smiled, walking with Nagito so she could get her guitar first.

Once she had that, she went with Nagito to the beach and found a cool rock they could sit on. Nagito went to take his jacket off, but stopped for a moment. He remembered hanging out here with Hajime just a few days ago. He smiled, but at the same time he was a little frustrated. He was trying to take his mind off of Hajime, not think about him more! He was hanging out with Ibuki right now, so he'll worry about her right now. He pulled his jacket back on and sat down, tucking one of his knees into his chest.

"Guitars are pretty cool, they sound pretty..." Nagito said softly, looking out into the ocean.

"Guitars are pretty awesome, Ibuki's been playing it for like- ever!" Ibuki smiled, "want Ibuki to play something?"

"Yes! That would be nice!" Nagito nodded, turning to listen to Ibuki.

Ibuki began to play her guitar. It was different than her usual music. It was softer than usual, it set the mood pretty well. Nagito gently swayed along with Ibuki's gentle strums of her guitar. It gave him an opportunity to clear his mind for once, letting himself fully relax. Nagito never realized how much tension he held in his body. When he relaxed, it was almost like a completely new feeling. He smiled though, even if it was new, it was a comforting feeling. It was almost like a breath of fresh air. He felt calm now and that was ok.

But it felt like it ended too quickly. Once Ibuki had finished, she looked back to Nagito, "what did you think?"

"That was amazing..." Nagito said softly, "I really liked that Ibuki, thank you for inviting me..."

"No problem! Ibuki loves to entertain people, as long as you're happy Ibuki is happy!" Ibuki smiled, "how about we go for a walk now? What do you think about that?"

"Ok!" Nagito smiled, standing up.

Ibuki got up as well, bringing Nagito back down to where the path was. Nagito was having a lot of fun with Ibuki so far, maybe he had a new friend. The two wandered around the island for what felt like hours. Nagito found that Ibuki had a lot to talk about, but she also listened to Nagito and his ramblings on hope. For once he could finally forget about Hajime completely and let go with Ibuki. 

Soon Ibuki looked stopped in the middle of the pat and looked up at the sky, "hm... looks like it's starting to get dark, it's gotta be dinner soon... race you to the restaurant!" She said before running off.

"Ah- Ibuki, wait!" Nagito ran after her.

Nagito ran as fast as his legs would carry him, trying to catch up with Ibuki. He wasn't much of a runner and his stamina wasn't great either, but he still tried his best. Once he caught up to Ibuki at the hotel gates, he stopped and leaned forward, breathing heavily.

"Are you ok?" Ibuki looked down to him, tilting her head.

"Yeah... just... I'm not good at running..." Nagito let out a small breathy chuckle, "but I'm ok...!" He said, standing back up.

"Oh ok!" Ibuki smiled, "let's go then!" She said, bringing Nagito to the restaurant.

Nagito smiled and walked with Ibuki. She was right, once they got to the restaurant they realized that it was in fact time for dinner. It seemed that some people had already gotten their food and left, but that didn't bother Ibuki. Ibuki hurried off, greeting everyone there and getting herself food. Nagito followed behind, getting some food and then going to eat. Sadly he didn't get to talk to her, but that was ok, he had a lot of fun today already. As he ate, he started to feel a little tired and fatigued. Nagito leaned on his hand, sighing a little. He just had to finished his food, then he could go get some rest. He chuckled softly to himself, maybe he had a little too much fun today. He got up after he was done and got rid of his plate, then made his way back towards his cottage. He rubbed his eyes and yawned while he walked down the stairs that went to the restaurant. Maybe he was more tired than he thought. He looked over to where the cottages were, Hajime's cottage was a closer walking distance, right? Sure, it probably wouldn't be too much further but he just wanted to sit down for a moment. Nagito made his way to Hajime's door, then knocked, hoping he was there.

Thankfully, the door opened and Hajime was there, "oh, Nagito... are you ok?" He asked, noticing how tired Nagito looked.

"Yeah... can I just sit down for a minute...? I'm really tired..." Nagito said softly, yawning again.

"I mean- go ahead, that's ok with me" Hajime said, letting Nagito in.

Nagito kicked his shoes off and then went over to Hajime's bed and sat down. He sat there for a moment, before his body just flopped onto the bed and he closed his eyes. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out. Hajime looked over and noticed Nagito had fallen asleep. He sighed a little and went over to the bed. Hajime almost went to shake Nagito to wake him up, but he stopped. It'd be fine to let Nagito sleep here for tonight, he looked really tired anyways. Hajime gently pulled off Nagito's jacket and hung it up, before getting in bed beside him.

Hajime woke up to a weight on his chest. He groaned a little, blinking a little to wake himself up. He jumped a little when he looked down, seeing Nagito nearly on top of him. He clung to Hajime's waist, with his head resting on his chest. Hajime gently placed a hand on Nagito's back, shaking him slightly. He heard Nagito groan, then his eyes opened. He looked up to Hajime, before his eyes widened and he backed up.

"Ah- sorry Hajime, this is... extremely embarrassing, I didn't expect to fall asleep here" Nagito chuckled a little, starting to get out of bed.

"It's ok, you looked really tired..." Hajime said, sitting up. 

"I'm sorry you had to deal with me" Nagito said, "you probably would've slept better without me there" he went to grab his jacket and shoes.

"Are you not going to clean yourself up at all...?" Hajime asked, getting his hairbrush.

"I don't normally..." Nagito's eyes wandered around the room, falling onto everything except Hajime. This was the most embarrassed he'd been in a long time. 

"Come here" Hajime sighed, sitting back onto the bed.

Nagito moved over to him. Hajime motioned for Nagito to sit in the floor, "at least brush your hair..."

Hajime gently started to brush through Nagito's hair. It looked soft at a glance, but now that Hajime was brushing it he realized how tangled and knotted it was. 

Hajime grunted a little as he got the brush through Nagito's hair, "jeez... do you even brush your hair...?"

“You’re supposed to do that...?” Nagito blinked, looking up to Hajime.

“Ah- really...?” Hajime blinked, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “are you serious?”

“Yeah...” Nagito said.

“You’re an idiot Nagito, I swear...” Hajime sighed, “I’m surprised your hair isn’t all matted...”

“Says Mr meat on the bone...” Nagito chuckled softly.

“At least I was right with it!” Hajime got defensive, “you just- this is just wrong!”

Nagito laughed a little harder, “ok, ok, I got you... I’ll try to improve, maybe then I won’t be disgusting trash”

Hajime shook his head and just continued to brush Nagito’s hair, “at least try to brush your hair every day ok?”

“You got it” Nagito nodded, “thanks for letting me know though” he chuckled softly.

“Yeah, no problem...” Hajime mumbled.

Once Hajime had finally brushed through Nagito’s thick mane, he sighed and relaxed. Nagito had so much hair, by the end Hajime’s arm was aching. He got up and grabbed his things so he could get ready himself.

“There, your hair looks much nicer now...” Hajime said softly, “you should hurry to the restaurant, we’re probably pretty late by now”

Nagito sat up and looked in the mirror. His hair was much smoother and looked more well kept. Most of his hair went in one direction, with only a few bits of hair still sticking up. He looked in the direction of where Hajime was and smiled, “thank you Hajime! I’ll see you later!” He said, making his way out the door.

“No problem, you too” Hajime said as he got changed.

Nagito nearly skipped off to the restaurant, he was so happy. Even if it was embarrassing, he got to cuddle Hajime and he brushed his hair too! He hoped people would maybe like him better now that he looked a little cleaner. Yes, he had to have hope. Hope was all he needed for others to like him. Hope was all he needed to get closer to Hajime. Hope was all he needed to get through this killing game with everyone. Hope was all he needed.


	4. Chapter 4

Nagito was having lots of fun with his brushed out hair. He couldn't stop touching it and running his fingers through his hair. It was so much softer than it was before and it felt nice between his fingers. He wondered, did Hajime's hair feel the same? Maybe he could ask him the next time he saw him. It seemed like the others noticed too and he even got some compliments. Nagito was in a really good mood today, it felt like almost nothing could ruin it. At breakfast Nagito decided he'd ask Hajime to hang out with him again, hoping this time he'd get lucky. He saw Hajime enter the restaurant and smiled, getting up from where he was sitting and going over to him. 

"Hi again Hajime!" He said, "are you busy today at all?"

"Well I was going to hang out with Chiaki..." Hajime said softly, "but if you want to, you can join us"

"Really? You two would be ok with that?" Nagito asked. He felt bad for intruding on Chiaki and Hajime, but at the same time he was incredibly happy to get an opportunity to be with Hajime.

"Yeah, I'm sure Chiaki would like it too" Hajime smiled a little, "are you able to wait until I'm finished with breakfast?"

"Yeah, yeah! Go ahead!" Nagito let Hajime go, then went to sit with Chiaki while he waited.

"So, are you ok if I intrude on you and Hajime today?" He asked once he was sat down.

Chiaki looked up to Nagito, "I don't see it as intruding, but yeah it's fine..."

"Oh ok! That's good, thank you for letting me!" Nagito smiled.

"Yeah, don't mention it" Chiaki said softly, going back to playing her game.

Hajime came and sat down with the two. Nagito leaned on his hand, kicking his legs under the table. He quietly watched Hajime eat, tapping his fingers on the table. Nagito felt impatient, it hadn't been that long since he got to hang out with Hajime, but it still felt like it was so long ago. It didn't matter now though, Nagito would get to be with Hajime all day again. And Chiaki too, so that was pretty cool. 

It felt like forever, but eventually Hajime finished his food. As he stood up, Nagito did too. Chiaki followed too and soon the three of them left the restaurant.

"So where are we going?" Nagito asked, walking close up behind Hajime. 

"Chiaki's bringing us to a spot" Hajime said, letting Chiaki lead the way.

"That sounds fun!" Nagito watched Chiaki, "she walks pretty fast..." he said, trying to catch up with her.

"Don't worry about it Nagito, we don't have to be right behind her" Hajime chuckled softly.

Nagito looked back to Hajime and smiled. He slowed down a bit so he was stood beside Hajime. It made Nagito so happy, it was almost like Chiaki wasn't even there! Nagito almost jumped up and down in excitement, he just wanted to be with Hajime. He didn't care what the circumstances were, as long as Nagito could be with Hajime that was all that mattered. 

They ended up in a small area of rocks where the beach was on the second island. It was very pretty and some of the rocks even looked like seats. They all made their way into the small area and found somewhere to sit. Nagito smiled, looking around the area.

"Wow... this is really really pretty..." he said, "how did you find this place Chiaki?"

"Oh, it was just from wandering around" Chiaki said softly.

"That's pretty lucky of you!" Nagito smiled, "I wonder if I could find something like this around here..."

"You probably could considering your luck" Hajime crossed his legs.

"You think so Hajime?" Nagito perked up. He was glad to hear even the smallest bit of praise from Hajime, "I'll try to find something for you...!" 

"Oh, you don't have to Nagito" Hajime held his hands up, "I just said that since you're the ultimate lucky student..."

"Well of course! But I'd still like to find somewhere nice for you!" Nagito smiled.

"Whatever floats your boat I guess" Hajime said. Then he looked to Chiaki, "this place is beautiful though, thank you for bringing us here Chiaki"

"Don't worry about it, I enjoy it and you guys should too" Chiaki said softly.

Nagito stood from where he was sitting and looked out onto into the ocean, proving to be a habit of his, "do you think if we swam for long enough we'd find land?"

"Are you crazy? We'd drown!" Hajime said.

"Yeah, but if everyone started swimming, maybe a few of us would get out!" Nagito walking closer towards the edge of the rocks, "the despair from all of the lives lost will push the rest of us to go further and-!"

Nagito didn't realize how far he was going until he slipped, and fell forward into the water. Luckily there was no current there and it was pretty shallow, but he was absolutely soaked. He looked up when he started to climb out of the water and saw Hajime, offering his hand. Oh, what a gentleman. Nagito smiled and gently took Hajime's hand. They were just as soft as he imagined, making his mmm blush softly. Hajime pulled him up and sighed, looking Nagito up and down.

"Are you ok?" He asked, checking to make sure Nagito wasn't hurt.

"Oh I'm great Hajime! Thank you for saving me..." Nagito said, giggling softly. 

"I didn't really save you... but ok" Hajime said, "you're soaked though, do you want to go back and change?"

"I think I'll be ok" Nagito smiled, taking his jacket off, "unless you want me to leave, I must look disgusting"

"I mean, it's your choice" Hajime said, sitting back down.

"Then I choose to stay!" Nagito said as he sat down as well. He didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to be with Hajime.

Though Nagito ended up watching quietly as Chiaki and Hajime talked. They seemed to be quite deep in conversation, so he didn't want to interrupt. Though he did watch Hajime in particular. He enjoyed the soft smile he had on his face while he talked. He wished he could see that smile directed towards him, but Nagito probably wasn't worth Hajime's time.

But for some reason, that smile still bothered him. He didn't know what it was, but the fact that Hajime smiled at Chiaki that way it made Nagito frown. Nagito's eyes darted between the two, biting his lip. Their small little chuckles as they talked and Hajime's damn smile, it was unlike one he'd ever seen before. But why was it making Nagito so mad? He never really got mad, but why this? Eventually he just stood up and put a smile on his face.

"I think I'm gonna go change, I'll see you guys later!" He announced, then started to leave.

"Oh, bye Nagito" Hajime said, "be careful on your way back ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine! Bye!" Nagito waved, then left. 

Nagito hurried back towards the hotel grounds, his pace continuing to pick up until he was in a light jog. He didn't know what was going on, it was like a sudden rush of emotions. Nagito hurried into his own cottage and nearly slammed the door. He leaned up against the door and breathed heavily. He felt tears coming, this wasn't right. He slid down the door until he was sat down on the floor. Nagito sighed to himself, trying to hold his tears back. He hadn't cried in a while, so why now? Hajime. Of course, that's where his mind always lead him. He leaned his head against the door, squeezing his eyes shut. He hoped that if he did that, maybe he wouldn't start crying. 

"Hajime... why can't you look at me like that too...?" Nagito mumbled. What was this feeling? This mishmash of anger, sadness and frustration, it was completely unfamiliar to Nagito. 

Jealousy.

The word popped into his head for a moment. It struck a chord within Nagito, and that's when the tears finally started to fall.

He couldn't believe himself. Was he really crying over jealousy? Surely there was nothing going with Hajime and Chiaki, right? Nagito dropped his head forward between his knees, even if he could convince himself there wasn't anything going on, Nagito still craved that soft gentle smile from Hajime. Why wouldn't Hajime look at him like that? No, it made sense. Nagito was a horrible, disgusting person. Of course Hajime wouldn't want to look at him like that. But for some reason Nagito still craved Hajime's attention, he still craved validation from the boy he idolized so much. Please, he pleaded to himself. Please stop the tears, stop whatever kind of jealousy he was feeling towards Hajime and Chiaki. But the more he thought about it, the worse his crying got. He shakily lifted his hands to cradle his head, it wasn't fucking fair. Why couldn't he had just been born a normal, average student? Maybe he wouldn't be obsessing over one of his fellow students and maybe some people would actually like him.

Nagito slammed his hands against the ground, "god dammit!" He grunted, sniffling.

"It's not fair... it's not fair, it's not fair...!" Nagito spoke barely above a whisper, his voice wavering as he tried to stop crying.

He couldn't do this. This was becoming too much. Hajime was like a drug to him, and he was completely addicted. Nagito relied on Hajime to keep him happy. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't just tell Hajime, that would no doubt push him away. He didn't want to ruin what he and Hajime already had. He sat up a little, gently hugging himself. He tried to offer himself at least a little comfort. He was a disgusting, useless piece of shit, but he thought to himself. Just this once, just this once he was going to be nice. Nagito knew he didn't deserve it, he knew he was just being petty and overly sensitive, but he just needed a little bit of comfort. 

Nagito let himself go, allowing his silent cries to slowly grow louder and louder until he was sobbing loudly. He was allowed to have this just for today. He prayed to any god out there that no one could hear him, he couldn't deal with this embarrassment. 

Nagito let go of himself for a moment, taking some time to take deep breaths and to wipe his eyes. Finally he was starting to calm down. Nagito carefully reached up to the doorknob and pulled himself up onto his feet. He sighed softly and went into the bathroom. He looked into the mirror and sighed, he looked absolutely disgusting. His red puffy eyes, his still wet damp clothes, and his now messed up hair. It was all disgusting. Nagito turned on the tap and cupped his hands, letting them fill up with water. Then he splashed his face, hoping that'd do something. Then he grabbed a hairbrush off the shelf in the bathroom, before gently running the brush through his hair like Hajime did. Once he was done with that, he went back into his room and went to get a change of clothes. Then he returned to the bathroom to change. Once he was all changed, Nagito looked out the window, seeing the sun go down. Was it already time to eat? He sighed to himself, he hoped he at least looked presentable. 

He finally left his cottage, then made his way to the restaurant to eat. He didn't plan on being there for too long, he just wanted to get in and get out. He felt like shit and he didn't want anyone else seeing that. He rubbed his face a little, then wore a bit of a smile, then hurried up to the restaurant.

Thankfully there weren’t too many people there. He grabbed his food and immediately sat down, he just wanted to eat and go away. He was ready to hide away, to crawl into a hole and never return. He didn’t eat too much that night, he would’ve been able to survive until the next day.

Once he was done Nagito got up and started to leave, but he was stopped at the door, nearly falling back onto the ground. Hajime, just his luck. Nagito collected himself and stood up straight.

“Are you ok Nagito?” Hajime asked.

“I’m great Hajime! No worries, I was just leaving!” Nagito smiled, pushing past Hajime a little.

Hajime turned and looked to Nagito, who was already making his way back to the cottages. He sighed a little, he was a little worried about Nagito. But it looked like he was already gone, so Hajime turned back around and went to get food. He hoped Nagito would be ok.


	5. Chapter 5

Morning came too quickly for Nagito. He hadn't fallen asleep until later at night, but it felt like the moment he fell asleep it was time to get up. Nagito rubbed his eyes, trying to rub the tiredness away. He yawned and sat up, hearing the small cracks in his back as he stretched. Then Nagito got out of bed, and started to get ready for the day. He brushed his hair like Hajime told him, it felt a little easier today than it was when Hajime brushed it. Even if it still stung, he allowed himself to smile at the thought of Hajime. Once his hair was all brushed out, he went and grabbed his jack then put on his shoes on, then went to get some food for the day.

Nagito went to the restaurant and got his breakfast for the day, then sat down. He was eating by himself for the most part, until a plate was set down beside him. Nagito jumped a bit, then looked up to see who it was.

"Oh Kazuichi, hello" Nagito smiled softly.

"Yo, mind if I sit here?" Kazuichi asked.

"Of course! I didn't expect anyone wanting to sit with trash like me, but I'm ok with it!" Nagito said, moving over for Kazuichi.

"You were acting a little strange yesterday, is everything ok?" Kazuichi asked once he sat down.

"Well, I don't think I should be talking about it in such a public space..." Nagito chuckled softly.

"Then how about we hang out? I'm curious dude" Kazuichi suggested.

"Really?" Nagito smiled and looked to Kazuichi, "I'd love to, thank you for inviting me!"

"Yeah, no problem..." the pink haired boy chuckled softly.

Nagito ate a little quicker that morning, he was happy that maybe he was gonna make another friend. Sure, it might've been a little strange to go straight to opening up with someone, but Nagito was willing to do it. Once he was all finished, he stayed beside Kazuichi, waiting for him to finish. Once Kazuichi stood, Nagito followed behind. They got rid of their plates and Nagito continued following Kazuichi out of the restaurant.

"So, what's going on?" Kazuichi asked, walking with Nagito towards the central island.

"Um... I don't really know..." Nagito put his hands in his pockets, he didn't know how to word it exactly. Was he really just going to say he was mad because Hajime looked at someone? He sighed to himself, trying to pick his words carefully.

"Let's go to the diner and sit, that'll probably be more private" Kazuichi said, going over the bridge to the second island. 

Nagito nodded followed Kazuichi to the diner, the two of them sat down. Then the pink haired boy stayed quiet, allowing Nagito to speak.

"I've been having weird kinds of feelings I guess..." Nagito looked down, "it's just- Hajime's really important to me and I saw the way he looked at Chiaki and I don't know why, but I just got mad and I never get mad, I-"

"Are you jealous?" Kazuichi cut Nagito off, "then... does that mean you're in love with Hajime?!"

"Ah- no!" Nagito felt his face heat up a little bit, "I mean- maybe? I don't exactly know what romantic love is supposed to feel like..."

"Well, do you see yourself close to Hajime on the future?" Kazuichi asked, he had similar feelings towards Sonia, so he thought he might as well try and find out how Nagito was feeling.

"Yeah, I want to spend the rest of my life with him! He makes me so happy" Nagito smiled.

"And there's your answer" Kazuichi chuckled.

"What?" Nagito tilted his head a little, leaning on his hand.

"It's obvious you're in love Nagito" Kazuichi smiled, "you should say something" 

"Oh I can't do that, no way" Nagito's smile dropped as he shook his head. 

"What, are your nervous?" Kazuichi chuckled softly, "you want me to talk to him?"

"You would do that for me?" Nagito asked, his smile slowly returning.

"Yeah, sure dude!" Kazuichi crossed his arms, "I'll get it all taken care of, don't you worry!"

Nagito nearly burst out of his seat, leaning over the table and taking one of Kazuichi's hands, "oh, thank you so much! I don't know how I'll ever be able to repay you, I... I'll do absolutely anything, even commit murder! As long as my friends are happy and hope reigns supreme, I'll do anything!"

"Woah dude, calm down..." Kazuichi chuckled softly, "but I'll keep that in mind, thanks"

"Oh, no need to thank useless trash like me, but I will thank you again! Thank you for letting me talk to you Kazuichi, I'm so grateful!" Nagito said, before gently releasing Kazuichi's hand.

Kazuichi sighed a little, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to sway Nagito's opinion on himself. But that sigh soon turned into a chuckle as he stood up, "don't worry about it dude, while we're here we should at least try to help each other right?"

"Of course, if our bonds grow closer then we might have a better chance of getting out of here together!" Nagito said as him and Kazuichi left the diner.

The two of them made their way through the second island and back towards the first island. Nagito was pretty pumped up, he couldn't believe Kazuichi actually approached him first! Maybe brushing his hair really did something. All of his hurt and upset feelings he had felt yesterday had almost completely disappeared, being replaced with almost exclusively hope. He hoped whatever Kazuichi was going to tell Hajime would spark something inside him. He couldn't wait to see Hajime again, he hoped he'd get an opportunity to see Hajime's smile. Nagito let a wide smile spread across his face, letting out a small chuckle. As soon as they made it back to the first island, Nagito went towards the hotel. He said goodbye to Kazuichi, then made his way back to his cottage. 

Nagito took some time to unwind since he was pretty tired already. He checked on the plants he had in his cottage, then sat down on his bed. Nagito pulled off his jacket and held it close, before laying back onto the bed. He giggled a little. Soon, he thought. Soon he'll get to do this with Hajime. He'd get to hug and cuddle Hajime again without a care. Nagito was in pure bliss, blinded by his hope for Hajime. 

Nagito was snapped out of his little daydream when he heard a knock at the door. He sat up and dropped his jacket, then hurried to answer the door. When Nagito opened the door, he smiled wide.

"Oh, Hajime! Hello" Nagito said.

"Hey Nagito, so Kazuichi told me you wanted to talk about something?" Hajime shifted his weight from one foot to another.

"Ah, what did he say?" Nagito blinked a little, a pit in his stomach slowly forming.

"He just said you wanted to talk" Hajime shrugged, "he sounded like it was a little urgent too, is everything ok?"

"Ah- I..." Nagito tried to find the right words. He thought Kazuichi was going to say more! Nagito didn't know if he'd be able to do the talking. He was fine in the heat of a class trial, but why now? In a panic, Nagito slammed the door on Hajime. Then he leaned his forehead onto the door, breathing deeply.

It felt utterly childish, yet Nagito couldn't do this. It felt like his stomach was tossing and turning in every other direction. He rubbed his face with his hands, he didn't know what to do to make this uneasiness go away. Surely something lucky would happen and get him out of it, right? He hoped so- no, this time it felt more than just hope. He pleaded for something to happen to get him out of this situation. He had no idea who or what he was pleading to, but he just pleaded silently in his head. Nagito lifted his forehead off the door to look through the peephole, Hajime was still there. Why? Nagito had just slammed the door in his face, why was he still there? Hajime should've been mad, he would've hated Nagito more than ever before by now. But the more Nagito looked at Hajime through the peephole, the worse he felt. He couldn't just leave him there, it wouldn't be fair. Nagito sighed and took one final deep breath, before opening the door once again.

"I'm sorry Hajime... I have no idea what came over me" Nagito chuckled softly, "do you wanna come in? Or we can just talk here if you want, whatever you want!" 

"Well I might as well come in..." Hajime said softly.

Nagito nodded and opened the door all the way, letting Hajime in. Hajime took his shoes off and then went to sit with Nagito, who was already on the couch.

"If you want, you can sleep here tonight and get back at me" Nagito suggested.

Hajime chuckled softly, "I think I'm ok, you fell asleep by accident so I'm not mad about it"

"Really? I'm glad" Nagito smiled, crossing his legs.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Hajime asked.

"Um... well..." Nagito chuckled nervously, "I thought Kazuichi was gonna tell you, but guess not..."

"Is it something I should be worried about?" Hajime asked worriedly.

"Ah- I hope not" Nagito said, "I just don't know exactly how to say it..."

"Really?" Hajime looked a little surprised, "you're normally pretty good with your words, at least that's what I think"

"I thought so too, but I guess not..." Nagito shrugged. He sighed softly, "I guess I just have to be blunt then" he looked to Hajime, "Hajime Hinata, I think I'm in love with you"

Hajime looked a little taken aback, "ah- really?" He blushed softly.

Nagito nodded, "yeah, did I do ok with the delivery?" He chuckled a little. 

"I mean yeah but-" Hajime frowned, "I... I don't think I feel the same way Nagito..." 

"Oh..." That's all Nagito could get out. But he quickly smiled, "that's ok! I can't expect to have everything, right?"

"Yeah but are you ok? I'm sorry that I can't reciprocate your feelings..." Hajime said.

"Oh don't worry about it!" Nagito said and stood up, "you don't have to apologize Hajime, I understand"

Hajime nodded a little and stood up as well, "I guess I'll see you later..."

Hajime gently opened his arms, allowing Nagito to hug him. Nagito hugged Hajime immediately, at least he got this. He kept telling himself that this was ok, that Hajime didn't have to return his feelings.

But deep down he knew he was just lying to himself.

Nagito didn't blame Hajime, especially since Nagito was an all around horrible person, but it still really hurt. Nagito held Hajime tightly in the hug, he wanted to enjoy this so bad, but he couldn't. He could feel the tears starting to well up in his eyes, no. He wasn't going to cry in front of Hajime, he wasn't going to be a baby about this. Nagito did all he could to hold his tears back, but couldn't stop a couple from rolling down his cheeks. As he pulled away, he just closed his eyes so Hajime wouldnt notice his watery eyes.

Nagito simply waved, "I'll see you tomorrow Hajime!"

"Yeah, goodnight..." Hajime said, before leaving Nagito's cottage.

Once Nagito heard the door close, he slowly opened his eyes. He tried to convince himself to stop crying, but it was already way too late for that. Despite that, Nagito attempted to carry on with getting ready for bed, maybe that'd make him feel better.

He took his jacket off and hung it up, then went into the bathroom to clean himself up. But all it took was one glance in the mirror and Nagito couldn't hold anything back. He stared at himself in the mirror, a small pitiful frown on his face, his eyes were already all red and puffy, then he started to sniffle every so often, causing him to start trembling slightly. Nagito felt so disappointed. Not only in himself, but in one of the only things he's ever wanted, love.

That's all he ever needed and he could die happy. Nagito would be able to sacrifice himself at any time, but he wondered if he'd be missed at all. Deep down he hoped that at least someone would miss him, but he wouldn't blame anyone if he wasn't missed. Nagito brought shaky hands up to his face as he sat down on the bathroom floor. 

This time Nagito didn't grant himself any passes, he wasn't supposed to be doing this. It was a hard thing to learn, but love wasn't always fair. And he had to learn to accept that. He tried to wipe all his tears away and to force all that emotion back down inside of him, but it just wouldn't work.

"Stop it... stop it Nagito..." He mumbled, raking his fingers through his hair.

Nagito didn't get it. Why did this hurt so much? Heck, why did he expect Hajime to feel the same in the first place? All of his actions that day felt humiliating. He shouldn't have said anything to Kazuichi, he shouldn't have said anything to Hajime, then he wouldn't be in this situation. Nagito sighed a little and untangled his fingers from his hair. He let his hands gently trail along his body before hugging himself again. It was something he had done forever and it had always helped him feel calmer. From his parents' death, to when the police found him in that garbage bag, even when he was diagnosed with cancer. Sure he wore a smile on his face for most of those events in his life, but hugging himself really helped him stay calm. He leaned back up against the wall, taking deep breaths.

"You're ok... you're ok..." Nagito whispered, closing his eyes as he rubbed his upper arm and his side.

That self hugging stuff really did work wonders on him. He soon found himself calm enough that the tears stopped and he could open his eyes. He let go of himself and then reached up to the wall and the sink, using that to pull himself up. Nagito didn't even look in the mirror, he didn't care for how he looked then. He just wanted to sleep it all off and try to forget it ever happened.

Nagito trudged his way out of the bathroom and flopped onto the bed, groaning softly. He might not have cried for as long as he did the first time, but this time it definitely hurt more. He felt embarrassed and upset, he was ready to crawl into a hole and die right there. Nagito sighed, if only it was that easy. Well maybe it was, but Nagito wouldn't want to go out without a bang, so it'd have to be something more than just jumping into a deep part of the ocean and never resurfacing. Maybe he'd give it more thought, but for now he was just tired. He pulled the covers over him and yawned softly, before rolling over and falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nagito crying in two chapters in a row- hehe, not me nope jdjdjjdjdjd


	6. Chapter 6

It turns out sleeping it off seemed to do the trick. In fact, Nagito woke up feeling more determined than discouraged. He wanted to find a way to make Hajime like him. Sure, it sounded forceful, but Nagito was prepared to change anything about himself if it meant he got Hajime. Though he still felt that it'd be better to keep his distance for a bit. Nagito had to build himself back up before talking to Hajime again. Yeah, he figured that was the right choice. He smiled softly as he got changed, he was going to be nice to himself. He'll just distance himself from Hajime for a while and forget about him for a bit, then he'll be ok! Nagito nodded to himself and grabbed his things, then headed off to the restaurant for breakfast.

As everyone met up to eat, Nagito made sure to stick to his word. He went as far as to sit across the room from Hajime. He knew he had others to talk to, so he took advantage of that. He decided to sit with Ibuki, she was pretty cool so that should keep him distracted for a while.

"Oh hey Nagito!" She smiled as Nagito approached.

"Good morning Ibuki" Nagito chuckled, sitting down beside her, "how was your night?"

"Good! Ibuki slept like a baby!" Ibuki giggled, "hey, can Ibuki ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure thing!" Nagito smiled, leaning on his hands and looking to Ibuki.

"You wanna hang out today?" She offered, looking pumped.

Despite the excited look on Ibuki's face, Nagito had to decline, "sadly not today, I think I want to explore the island by myself today"

"Aww, ok!" Ibuki whined a little, "but you have fun ok?"

"I will, don't worry" Nagito smiled softly.

After breakfast was over, Nagito was the first one out. He hurried off of the hotel grounds and started to wander, giving himself some well deserved alone time. The third island had recently opened, so he decided to go check that out. 

Nagito wandered around the surprisingly empty island, maybe everyone had already looked around. He first stopped at the hospital there. Nagito felt a small sense of familiarity with the hospital, making him chuckle softly. He didn't go inside though, he didn't want to feel too familiar. Nagito simply nodded towards the hospital, almost like he was simply acknowledging it existed, then he moved on. Nagito then came up to the music venue. He chuckled softly, he found the name of the venue quite funny. Nagito took a minute to look inside. It was pretty empty and spacious, hopefully they'd be able to put this place to use. Then Nagito moved on, coming up to the motel. Nagito wandered around the motel grounds, going to check out the rooms. But that proved impossible since he needed a motel key and Nagito didn't feel like going to get one. He soon moved on, ending up at electric ave. Nagito was quite interested in all the technology, even if he didn't know much about it. He checked to see if any of the electronics worked, but didn't have much luck surprisingly. Then he made his way back to the last area on the island, the movie theatre. Nagito looked through the area. He went to open the door to the theatre itself, only to be stopped by Monokuma.

"Ah ah ah! You can't get in without a ticket!" Monokuma shook his head.

"Well, where can I get a ticket?" Nagito asked, crossing his arms.

"Uh... I don't have any yet" Monokuma said, looking down in embarrassment.

"Well when are you gonna get one? I think it'd be nice to watch a movie with everyone" Nagito said.

"I'll let you know when I do Nagito, now you enjoy your time!" Monokuma laughed, before disappearing.

Nagito sighed a little, that was all he could do on that island for now. He got one last good look at everything as he made his way back to the bridge, then returned to the first island. Maybe he could just sleep the day away. Yeah, that sounded like a plan. Nagito was starting to get tired, so a nap wouldn't hurt. But he was stopped in his tracks as he made his way back to the hotel. Hajime and Chiaki. Nagito hid so the two wouldn't see him. He had completely forgot about Hajime while he was out, which was good then, but now Nagito was just frustrated. Why did they have to be here now? As much as Nagito could wear a smile and say he was fine, but he wasn't quite over his failed confession. Honestly he didn't know if he would be able to get over it. Nagito sighed and left where the cottages were, he could nap later. As he was walking away to find something else to do, he stopped. Maybe he didn't have to nap in his cottage. He knew there were some pretty big trees in Jabberwock park, so maybe he could catch a nap under one of them in the shade. Sure, he'd be leaving himself vulnerable, but he trusted his luck.

So Nagito set off. He got to the main island and soon to Jabberwock park, then started to examine all the trees in the area. His eyes ended up falling onto one of the biggest trees in the park. It seemed perfect, so Nagito hurried over towards it. He gently sat down, the grass was nice and soft, making him smile. Then he pulled his jacket off and pulled it over himself so it acted like a blanket. Then he leaned back against the tree, closing his eyes and soon falling asleep.

Meanwhile, Hajime was just finishing up his conversation with Chiaki. Once she had returned to her cottage for the day, Hajime sighed a little. He was worried about whether or not Nagito was ok, so before he went off to do anything he went and knocked on Nagito's door. He waited there for a while, but for no answer. Hajime just sighed, he could check on him during dinner. 

Hajime let the day go by, yet he didn't see Nagito at all. His concern slowly grew as he went to the restaurant with still no sign of Nagito. Hajime looked around and saw Ibuki, he knew Nagito was sitting with her this morning.

Hajime hurried over to Ibuki to talk to her, "Ibuki...! Do you know where Nagito is?"

"Umm... nope! All Nagito told Ibuki was that he was going to spend some time alone today" Ibuki shook her head.

"Ah..." Hajime bit his lip nervously, "I'm gonna go look for him"

"Are you sure? I'd be fine if he disappeared and never returned!" Hiyoko said, overhearing Hajime.

"Well I wouldn't be-" Hajime said, hurrying out of the the restaurant.

Hajime hurried and looked in every nook and cranny on the island. The first island showed no results, turning Hajime's anxiety up to 11. He hurried to the central island, quickly letting out a sigh of relief when he saw Nagito fast asleep in Jabberwock park. Hajime went over to the tree Nagito was asleep under and knelt down, gently shaking him.

Nagito stirred softly, his eyes slowly opening. Hajime smiled softly, "hey..."

"Hm...?" Nagito blinked a couple times, before he went rigid, "ah- Hajime!"

"Yeah, everything ok?" Hajime asked.

"Yeah, yeah! Everything's fine!" Nagito immediately stood up, pulling his jacket on and starting to walk away.

"Wait!" Hajime went after him, "are you really ok Nagito?"

Nagito stopped and sighed. He didn't want to have to face Hajime now, but it looked like Hajime wouldn't leave him alone until he said something. He just looked back to Hajime and smiled softly, "I just need a little bit of time ok? I'm sorry for avoiding you all day Hajime, I just need time..."

"Oh, of course..." Hajime nodded, "I understand, you go ahead then, it's dinner time"

Nagito nodded as well, then headed off. He was glad Hajime at least understood, so Nagito could take some time to recover. Nagito went into the restaurant happily, getting his food and then went to find somewhere to sit. He looked around, before seeing Kazuichi beckon him over. Nagito smiled and nodded in his direction, going over to the table he was at. There also sat Ibuki, Fuyuhiko and Akane.

"Oh, Fuyuhiko you're sitting with other people?" Nagito asked, chuckling softly.

"Shut up, Kazuichi suggested it.." Fuyuhiko groaned softly. 

Nagito chuckled again, leaning on one of his hands and starting to eat. Kazuichi leaned over the table a little bit and got Nagito's attention.

"So how'd yesterday go?" Kazuichi asked.

Nagito stopped eating, biting his lip a little, "well... he said no..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry dude..." Kazuichi frowned, "are you going to be ok...?"

"Well I'm gonna have to be, right?" Nagito smiled a little, "I mean, sure it's gonna sting for a while... but I'm gonna have to get over it eventually, even if it takes a little force"

"If you need anyone to cry to, Ibuki volunteers!" Ibuki smiled.

Kazuichi nodded, "yeah, if you need to vent at all you can come talk to me too man"

"I... I don't know what's going on but I guess you can come to me as well" Fuyuhiko looked around.

"Oh I think I'll be ok!" Nagito smiled. He saw everyone's eyes widen, "trust me, I appreciate your offers, but I think I can handle this on my own"

"Are you sure...?" Kazuichi asked, "it won't be easy going through it alone..."

"Are you sure that it won't be easy?" Nagito leaned on his hands, "I just need some time away from Hajime, and then I'll be ok"

"If you say so..." Kazuichi just nodded, going back to his food.

Nagito smiled and giggled, before getting back to eating as well. After he finished, he decided to wait for the others sitting at the table. He was pretty quiet, just kicking his legs under the table. Nagito was about to get up to put his dishes away, before he stopped, holding his head. Head rush. He groaned softly and sat down, moving his hand to his forehead. It felt a little warm, was he getting sick? That wouldn’t be good, maybe his illness would finally take him. 

“You ok Nagito?” Akane asked.

“Yeah, yeah... I’m just not feeling great...” Nagito mumbled.

Kazuichi took Nagito’s plate from him, letting Akane stand Nagito up. Nagito shook his head, trying to insist he was fine, but Akane didn’t stop. She brought Nagito back to his cottage and sat him down on the bed.

“You sleep good ok?” Akane smiled, “I bet you’ll be good tomorrow”

“Yeah, I’ll sleep it off fine” Nagito said softly.

“Ok! Goodnight” Akane waved, then left Nagito’s cottage.

Nagito immediately crashed on the bed, groaning again to himself. He pulled his blanket over himself, yawning softly. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep, everything would be ok tomorrow, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one’s a little shorter! Writer’s block was hitting me hard throughout this chapter ):<


	7. Chapter 7

Hajime woke up a little later than usual, rubbing his eyes to get rid of any remaining feelings of tiredness. He rolled out of bed and hurried to get changed, he must've been late considering he didn't hear the morning announcement. Hajime hurried off towards the restaurant, mid-tying his tie when he stopped in front of the restaurant.

"Is that... crying...?" Hajime said to himself.

Hajime slowed his pace a little, making his way up into the restaurant. The first thing he was met with was a sobbing Akane. Hajime went up to her, trying to get her attention.

"Akane...? What's wrong?" Hajime asked.

But he didn't get a response, "Akane? Hey? It's not like you to cry, what's going on??"

Akane sniffled, "I-I'm scared...! I don't want to do this anymore...!" She cried.

"Ah-" Hajime didn't know how to react. 

Hajime looked around for the others in the restaurant. The only other people there were Nagito and Hiyoko. As much as Hajime wanted to respect Nagito's wishes and leave him alone, he was still concerned. Nagito was just staring off into space, so Hajime decided to go see what's up.

"Nagito... do you know what happened to Akane? She's acting kind of strange..." Hajime asked.

Nagito was quiet for a moment, before springing to life, "Hajime, be careful! That's probably not the real Fuyuhiko!"

That really threw Hajime for a loop, "huh..? Wh-what?"

Nagito looked dead serious, "I know. The real Fuyuhiko is already dead... that's why... that's probably Fuyuhiko's clone!"

"Nagito... what are you talking about...?" Hajime didn't get a thing he was saying.

"Also, I heard from Monokuma that Nekomaru couldn't be saved" Nagito just kept going on, completely disregarding any of Hajime's questions, "it's sad... but a transfer student is apparently going to replace him, so let's all give our best to give that person a warm welcome!"

"I- Nagito are you messing around with me?" Hajime asked.

Nagito looked a little offended, "of course not! I always speak the truth!"

Hajime just nodded and backed off, going to see if Hiyoko had any sense of what was going on, "Hiyoko..?"

"We should've kept Nagito tied up..." she said.

"Huh, why?" Hajime asked.

"He lied to me and said that Mahiru was still alive!" Hiyoko looked like she was fuming, "and not just tied up.. no..." she shook her head, before looking Hajime dead in the eyes, "I won't be satisfied until I peel off his face and expose the meat so we can't identify him anymore..."

Hajime sighed to himself, why was Nagito telling such pointless lies? It didn't make any sense to him at all.

But before Hajime could continue his thought process, he was interrupted by another voice entering the restaurant. He turned his head, Ibuki?

"It may be rude of me, but I would like to say my greetings first thing in the morning!" She said. It was strange, this didn't sound like Ibuki at all, "good morning! I look forward to working with you all today!"

Hajime opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Nagito, "be careful Ibuki! Hajime wants to kill you and eat you!"

"Nagito?! Wh-what the?!" Hajime was taken aback.

But surprisingly Ibuki went along with it, "Mr Hajime! I am not tasty! Please don't eat me!"

"Nagito's lying! Can you not see that?" Hajime bit his lip nervously, what was he supposed to do?

"Oh, I see! So it was a lie!" Ibuki said.

"It's not a lie, I never tell lies" Nagito crossed his arms.

This wasn't making any sense to Hajime. He was going to question the two again, before Mikan came running in.

"Ibuki... sh-she has an extremely high fever, th-that's probably the cause of whatever's going on..." she said.

"Really?" Hajime asked, before looking to Ibuki. He gently placed his hand on her forehead as she continued to talk, before his eyes widened. Mikan was right, Ibuki's forehead was extremely hot, abnormally hot even. He looked to the other two who were acting strange and started with Akane, he put his hand to her forehead as well and yielded the same results. What the heck? This couldn't be a normal fever. Then he looked to Nagito, who held his hands up.

"Oh I don't have a fever Hajime! I feel great!" He said, but Hajime persisted and put a hand to his forehead. Hajime sighed, another lie.

"What's going on?" Hajime backed up.

Then Monokuma showed up. Before he began talking, everyone else showed up. Once everyone was there, Monokuma explained that the reason that the three were acting strange was because of the despair disease, what would serve as their new motive. Monokuma explained that Nagito had the liar disease, Akane had the coward disease, and Ibuki had the gullible disease. Well at least that made sense, but what was even more concerning was the fact that this disease could be passed around like the common cold.

After the explanation, Nagito started to spout off nonsense again. Things about committing a murder as an apology and other nonsense. Instead of going on about hope, this time it was about despair. But he seemed to get more antsy as he went along and shaky. Soon his eyes widened as his hands clutched his head, before he collapsed with a loud thud.

Everyone was obviously shocked by this, what's worse was that Nagito's condition seemed to worsen the longer everyone stood there.

"W-we need to hurry to the hospital!" Mikan said.

Hajime nodded and went to help pick Nagito up. Everyone else stuck to either Ibuki or Akane, getting all of them to the hospital on the third island. Once everyone got there, Mikan hurried go get the three changed into hospital robes.

While Mikan was busy, everyone discussed their plans for how they were going to deal with this. They all eventually came to the conclusion that Fuyuhiko and Hajime would stay to help Mikan since Hajime had contact with all the sick and Fuyuhiko just volunteered. Then everyone else would stay close by in the motel in case they were needed.

After everyone had left, Hajime was finally left to rest. He went up to the second floor into the on-call room and laid down on the bed. He could rest here just for a little bit, then he'd be ok. But his body decided differently. When he took the time to lay down, he was immediately met with a wave of tiredness. Hajime couldn't stop it, his eyes growing heavy as he fell asleep.

When he woke up though, he felt a weird pressure on his body. As opened his eyes though, he immediately tensed up, seeing Mikan up against him.

"M-Mikan...!" Hajime tried to push her off of him, "h-hey...! I can't...! I can't breathe...!"

Mikan wasn't budging, and Hajime was starting to feel lightheaded. Though when he heard her stir, he hoped that she'd wake up fully. And thankfully he was right. 

Mikan hopped off the bed, "H-Hajime! I'm so s-sorry!" She looked to him, "oh no... y-you're turning blue... Hajime!" She shook him.

Hajime eventually caught his breath and slowly sat up, "oh my god... Mikan-"

"Guys!" Hajime was cut off by Fuyuhiko running into the room, "ah- what were you guys doing?!"

"Nothing! What's going on?!" Hajime got up off the bed.

"Nagito... he's not breathing!" Fuyuhiko said.

Mikan and Hajime immediately ran with Fuyuhiko down to Nagito's room. Fuyuhiko was right, and Mikan ran into the room, getting to Nagito's side. Though thankfully once Mikan got to his side, he started to breathe, though it was quite shallow. He whispered to Mikan, telling her that he was doing great.

"He says he's feeling much better... b-but he has the liar disease..." Mikan said.

"So he must not be doing too good..." Hajime said softly.

Nagito gently turned his head towards Hajime, smiling wide, "ah... Hajime, why are you here...? You shouldn't be here..." he mumbled.

"I'm staying here to help" Hajime spoke up, leaning on the wall.

"Oh... well I want you out of here as fast as possible..." Nagito giggled softly, "I don't want to see your face..."

Hajime was about to open his mouth to protest, but he remembered about Nagito's liar disease, "you want me here...?"

"No...! No, of course not..." Nagito carefully rolled over, "I want everyone here but you..."

Mikan and Fuyuhiko looked at each other, before Mikan looked to Hajime, "h-he looks like he's doing better... can we leave him with you...?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Hajime said.

Then Mikan and Fuyuhiko both left, leaving Nagito and Hajime alone. Hajime went over to Nagito, pulling up a chair and sitting by the bed.

"You're disgusting Hajime..." Nagito smiled wide, reaching over to Hajime.

Hajime looked to Nagito's hand, "yeah...?" He then looked back up to Nagito's face, it said it all. Nagito obviously meant the opposite of what he was saying, so Hajime would just have to look out for that until Nagito was better.

"Yeah, you have no idea how much I hate your guts..." Nagito squeezed Hajime's hand, "I hate your hands... they're so rough and nasty..."

Hajime sighed a little, but couldn't help but laugh a little, "I hear you buddy..."

"I'm glad you rejected me..." Nagito frowned, "I know I would regret it..."

"Ah-" that caught Hajime off guard a little, "I'm so sorry Nagito..."

Hajime watched as Nagito's eyes began to water, all the while he kept the same smile on his face. He sat up, "do you have any idea how much I fucking hate you Hajime? You've made me feel the worst I've ever felt in my life!"

Hajime had to take a minute to understand what Nagito was saying, then bit his lip, "I... I really like you Nagito, I just don't know if it's that way..."

"Please get out of here Hajime! Please leave and never return!" Nagito said, a couple tears rolling down his cheeks.

Hajime stood, "you really want me to...?" He was about to leave, but realized again that Nagito meant the opposite. Hajime sighed, "I'll be here as long as I can..."

Nagito grabbed Hajime's other hand and held them both close, "You're the worst thing to ever happen to me Hajime..."

"Hey Nagito, don't cry..." Hajime pulled his hands away for a moment, gently wiping away his tears.

Nagito was quiet as Hajime held his cheeks. Despite his tears, he kept smiling. Nagito was at least glad Hajime could kind of understand him. 

Nagito gently reached up to Hajime's hands, pitting his own hands overtop of them, "I really hate you..."

Hajime actually chuckled a little, "sounds great..."

"You should stay here Hajime..." Nagito said after a while, dropping his hands.

Hajime looked to Nagito and raised an eyebrow, gently letting go of him, "what do you mean?"

"You won't get sick, trust me" Nagito smiled, "I'll just lay here up all night"

Hajime took another moment to decipher Nagito's words. Once he got it, he stood, "you wanna rest? I'll leave you be then..."

Nagito just nodded. He wanted Hajime to stay a little longer, but at the same time it'd be no good if he were to get sick. So he just waved to Hajime, letting him go.

"I'll come check on you later if it'll make you feel better" Hajime suggested.

"No no, you just stay away from me Hajime..." Nagito said softly.

Hajime chuckled softly, he was starting to get used to how Nagito talked, "ok, I'll see you later"

Hajime left Nagito's room, and went to find Fuyuhiko or Mikan. Though Nagito's words stuck in Hajime's head. When he was talking about the rejection, he looked really hurt. And when he continued on and got upset, it made Hajime feel even worse. He ended up in the lobby though, seeing Fuyuhiko pacing.

Fuyuhiko saw Hajime and stopped, "oh, there you are... finally escaped him?"

"Well he was the one who suggested it in the first place" Hajime said, then he saw the equipment on the reception table, "oh, did the others bring this?"

"Yeah, Kazuichi made this stuff so we can communicate and then we have some extra food" Fuyuhiko said, before showing Hajime how to use the device.

"Oh that's cool..." Hajime nodded along.

"So how did it go with Nagito?" Fuyuhiko sat in one of the chairs.

"It was fine I guess...." Hajime sat down beside him, "but... I do feel really bad for him... I could just-" He sighed, "I could see how hurt he was when he got talking about how I rejected him..."

"Well, I don't know if I'm the best person for advice, but have you really given any thoughts about how you see Nagito?" Fuyuhiko asked.

Hajime thought for a moment. He'd never really thought about it, "um... I... no...?" 

"Then I'd think about it or even sit down with Nagito and talk about it before being sure" Fuyuhiko said softly.

Hajime nodded a little, "ok, thanks Fuyuhiko..."

"Ah- you don't have to thank me..." Fuyuhiko looked away. 

Hajime chuckled softly, "I'll talk to him when he's all better maybe..."

Fuyuhiko stood up, "yeah, that might be the best idea, do you mind if I go rest for a bit?" 

"Yeah go ahead, I'm gonna be awake until later anyways" Hajime nodded, sitting back in the chair he was sitting in.

"Ok, I'll be in the on-call room" Fuyuhiko said, leaving the lobby.

Hajime sighed softly, maybe he could take the time to think now. He brought one of his knees to his chest and leaned his cheek on it. Did he know Nagito at all before they met on the island? It was all fuzzy, he couldn't quite pinpoint anything. Though the hospital setting they were in right now felt oddly familiar. His other knee bent and joined in with the other one by his chest, leaning his forehead onto his knees. He focused as much as he could, trying to connect him and Nagito to the hospital. 

Then he lifted his head, "that's it!" He said out loud.

Before Hajime was going to attend Hope's Peak Academy, he remembered that he broke his leg. It was pretty insignificant, but he had to be in the hospital for a bit. But strangely he didn't remember anything like Nagito's hair or anything.

Then his mind pointed to Nagito now. Was there anything about him that would help Hajime out? Nagito's hair stuck in his mind again for a moment, not only was it white, but it looked like the ends were either a light brown or a ginger colour. Hajime stood up, he knew Nagito was resting, but maybe he could at least stay with him until he woke up. 

He went down the hall, then quietly entered Nagito's room. Hajime sat back down in the chair he was in before and quietly looked to Nagito. He was laid on his side and gently curled up, sleeping peacefully. It looked like he was breathing easier, so that was good. 

Hajime sighed softly, "we met somewhere... didn't we...?"

He may not have noticed it their first day together, but as the two boys spent more time together, the more familiar it felt to Hajime. He had met a few people when he got hurt, but was one of those people Nagito? It would be a little hard to communicate, but Hajime wanted to see if he could get anything out of him.

Soon, Hajime heard Nagito stir, catching his attention. He was about to doze off himself, so Hajime sat up as Nagito woke up.

Nagito looked over once his eyes opened, "mmm... Hajime..." he mumbled.

"Hey Nagito..." Hajime said softly, "can I ask you a couple of questions?"

Nagito sat up, yawning softly, "no..."

Hajime smiled a little, knowing that Nagito meant the opposite. He crossed his legs in his lap, "were you ever sick or hurt? Like- did you ever need to go the hospital for any reason?"

Nagito looked to Hajime, his eyes widening a little. Hajime bit his lip, "I'm taking that as a yes...?"

"No..." Nagito said.

Hajime sighed a little, "I guess now wasn't really a good time... maybe it'd be better for us to talk later, sorry for bothering you"

Then Hajime glanced outside, "looks like it's starting to get dark out, Monokuma's announcement should be soon..."

Nagito reached out to Hajime's hand again, "get out of here please... I want to sleep alone Hajime..."

Hajime gently squeezed Nagito's hand, "Um... I'll see what I can do..."

"Get away..." Nagito said, narrowing his eyes a little.

"You mean you want me closer...? I can sit on the bed with you if you want..." Hajime offered, standing up. 

Nagito smiled, "no Hajime! Of course not!"

Hajime chuckled softly, "ok, ok... I'm coming..." he stood up, gently climbing in the bed.

Nagito immediately sat up, and reached over to Hajime. Hajime held his hands up, holding onto Nagito, "hey careful, I don't want you getting hurt..."

"I hate you so much Hajime.." Nagito giggled softly.

"Yeah I know..." Hajime smiled a little, "if you wanna see me so much, come here" he said gently hugging Nagito.

Nagito stopped, before smiling a little as well. It had been a while since him and Hajime got to hug, do it was a nice feeling.

"Is this ok...?" Hajime asked.

"No, I hate it..." Nagito chuckled softly.

"You just rest ok? I'll be here as long as I can..." Hajime said softly. He knew it wasn't good for his health, but Nagito seemed to be doing better with him around.

Hajime started to feel a little tired himself, with him yawning softly. He looked to Nagito, who seemed to be half asleep, "hey, how about we lay down for a bit?"

Nagito didn't even answer, already pulling Hajime with him back onto the bed. He yawned and hugged Hajime tightly, before closing his eyes, "goodnight, fuck you..."

Hajime pulled the blanket over the two of them, chuckling softly, "ok, goodnight..."

But before the two had a chance to fall asleep, suddenly Monokuma appeared. 

"Hey! What are you doing? You can't sleep here!" Monokuma pointed to Hajime.

"Can I just stay with him tonight? I mean, I would be putting myself more at risk..." Hajime said, hoping that'd sway Monokuma to let him stay.

"Hmm... you do have a point..." Monokuma said softly, "I'll allow it! But only for tonight"

Hajime nodded, "understood..."

"Ok! You two get to sleep now!" Monokuma said, before disappearing.

Hajime sighed and laid back down, "ok... we can sleep now..." 

Hajime looked down to Nagito, who was already asleep. He chuckled softly, "well... I can sleep now..."

Hajime closed his eyes softly, "goodnight..."


	8. Chapter 8

Hajime enjoyed that night with Nagito, but sadly had to return to his cottage every night afterwards. This morning in particular, Hajime got there pretty early before the announcement. But it was strange, because the light on the monitor was already blinking. He raised his eyebrow. He sat in front of the monitor and clicked the button, watching as the monitor turned on.

"Wh-what the...?" His eyes widened, examining the screen, "blue robe... a bag... ladder and... a rope...?"

Hajime was glued to the screen, he had no idea what to do. Was this still the music venue? Once Hajime realized what was going on, he bolted from the hospital, running towards the music venue. He didn't believe it, he didn't want to believe it. 

'Come on... just hold on...!" Hajime thought, trying to pick up his pace. 

Once he made it to the music venue, Hajime pushed the doors open, but he was stopped dead in his tracks. 

"No... no way..." Hajime whispered. Even if the body was right in front of him, he didn't want to believe it.

Hajime immediately turned and ran towards the motel in a panic, he needed to get the others. It looked like Gundham and Chiaki were already outside, so he ran over.

"Hajime? What's going on?" Chiaki asked.

"I-I found a body!" Hajime said. He was shaking a little, the adrenaline and panic mixing together. 

"Where?!" Gundham exclaimed.

"Come on!" Hajime didn't waste any time, turning and running back with the two.

Hajime could barely feel his feet hit the floor as he went. All that was on his mind was to get back to the music venue. Though he nearly fell over when he was stopped by someone else.

It was Fuyuhiko, "Hajime, where have you been?"

Hajime leaned over a little as he caught his breath, "I... found a body... we need to hurry..."

Fuyuhiko's eyes widened, "y-you did?!"

Hajime nodded, before standing back up straight, "yeah.. let's go...!"

Fuyuhiko joined in the others. Hajime then brought the others to the music venue. He approached the doors and went to open them again, but something was up. The doors were locked? Huh? Hajime rattled the door handle a bit, then tried to push on the door a bit.

"What the...?" Hajime whispered.

"What's wrong?" Chiaki asked, approaching Hajime. 

"Is it locked...?" Hajime continued to try and open the door.

Gundham approached as well, crossing his arms, "we could try to open it all together..."

Fuyuhiko nodded and went over to the others, "that might be our best bet..."

Hajime nodded as well, "yeah, you guys wanna try?"

Everyone agreed and got ready to open the door. Hajime looked to the others, "ok, one.. two... three... push!"

Everyone pushed with all they had. With a few hard pushes, the door was forced open and the four tumbled in. Hajime recovered pretty quickly and stood, before his eyes widened.

"Hiyoko...?" Hajime's mouth fell open.

This couldn't be happening, this felt even more unbelievable. Did Hajime not see Hiyoko when he came the first time? He was about to say something before everyone heard the body discovery announcements, confirming that the two were in fact dead. Hajime was quiet, he didn't know what to say. He just stood in silence before the others joined them.

Though it was surprising when Akane and Nagito arrived. This snapped Hajime out of it for a moment, "Akane...? Nagito...? Why are you guys up?"

"Oh, we're feeling better" Nagito smiled.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Hajime asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I'm saying we feel better too" Akane said, "so... another murder huh..?"

Hajime nodded, "yeah... there's Hiyoko, but we should get the other body down..." he said, with him and a few others getting up onto the stage.

With help, the body was laid on the floor and everyone just looked at it for a moment. Who was going to do it? Who was going to take the bag away? Everyone looked around to each other before everyone's eyes fell onto Nagito, who was already knelt down. He gently took hold of the bag, then started to pull it off. Though he faltered, his grip tightening on the bag as he frowned.

"Ibuki...?" Nagito mumbled.

That wasn't something Hajime saw every day. This was the first time he'd ever seen Nagito react this way to a death. Hajime expected him to start spouting off about hope, but not this time. Everyone was completely silent. Nagito dropped the bag, before slowly standing up.

"So... Ibuki and Hiyoko...?" Fuyuhiko spoke up.

"Yeah..." Hajime nodded. He didn't want to move on to investigating too quickly, but with two murders it might be harder to figure out, "we should probably get to work..." he sighed.

Everyone nodded solemnly and started to go look around the area. Hajime looked to Nagito, who was still looking down to Ibuki. He was strangely quiet, so Hajime just wanted to check up on him.

"Are you ok...?" Hajime gently put his hand on Nagito's shoulder.

"We were friends..." Nagito whispered, "and now she's gone..."

"Do you need to step out for a minute Nagito...?" Hajime asked, rubbing his back gently.

"I-" Nagito was a little taken aback, "I think so...?"

Hajime nodded, "ok, let's go.."

Hajime walked Nagito outside the music venue, "do you want me to stay here or do you wanna be alone?"

"You need to investigate Hajime, you go ahead..." Nagito said softly.

"Ok, if you need someone at all though you can talk to me..." Hajime said, before turning back and headed back inside.

Nagito wandered around the island, looking for something to take his mind off of what he just saw. He didn't know why he reacted that way, the last time death had really phased him were when his parents died. Ibuki was his friend. Yeah, his friend. He never really had many friends, so maybe that was it. Nagito hoped none of his other friends would get hurt again. That got him thinking though, what about Hajime? Nagito knew he wanted to get close to Hajime, but he also knew that he harboured bad luck like the plague. He still wanted to try and make this work though. He just couldn't let Hajime get hurt. It'd be hard to do, but Nagito was hopeful he'd find a way.

After Hajime had thought he was finished in the music venue, he decided to to go check on Nagito. But when he left the music venue, Nagito wasn't outside anymore. Hajime looked a little worried, he hoped nothing had happened to Nagito. He wandered around to each of the buildings around the island, eventually ending up in the movie theatre. When he entered, he saw the door to the theatre open and out came an angry Nagito.

"That was the worst movie I've ever seen!" He grumbled.

"Nagito...?" Hajime looked to him. 

"Oh, hey Hajime" Nagito smiled a little, "I thought you were investigating?"

"I just wanted to check on you" Hajime said, "what was with the movie?"

"Oh, it was just... really bad" Nagito said.

"Hm... can I see it...?" Hajime asked.

"Hold it!" Monokuma suddenly appeared between the two.

"You need a ticket to get in!" Monokuma crossed his arms.

"Well... could I have a ticket then?" Hajime asked.

"Uh... sure!" Monokuma said, "but you only get on ok? So don't lose it!"

Monokuma took out a ticket and put it in Hajime's hands. Then he disappeared again, leaving Hajime and Nagito.

"Do you want me to wait here until you're done?" Nagito asked.

"Um... you don't have to if you don't want to" Hajime said.

"Don't worry, I'll wait for you" Nagito smiled, leaning against the wall.

"Ok... see you in a bit" Hajime said, before entering the theatre.

Hajime returned into the lobby after the 'movie' was over, if you could even call it that. Nagito was still leaned against the wall like he said and looked to Hajime, standing up and going to join him.

"So? It's pretty bad, right?" Nagito said, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but it could still be a vital piece of information" Hajime said.

"Oh really?" Nagito asked, "cool, how about we head back to the music venue and see if we can find anything else?"

"I guess we could take one more look just to be sure" Hajime said, before leaving with Nagito.

The two made their way back to the music venue again and looked around, before Nagito got Hajime's attention.

"Did you look in the supply closet at all?" He asked.

"Uh.. no, I didn't... let's go look there" Hajime said, following Nagito into the supply closet.

Hajime enjoyed having Nagito around to investigate with him. Though Nagito still seemed a little uneasy. Hajime was going to approach him, but right now they needed to focus on the investigation. The two searched around every nook and cranny to find anything useful to the investigation. Nagito didn’t really know what was going on, so he was mostly just asking if anything looked suspicious to him. After they finished there, the announcement for the class trial played. Both Nagito and Hajime looked at each other, nodding to each other before heading off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is super short! I was really struggling with it, I promise to write a longer one next time!


	9. Chapter 9

After the trial, the first thing Hajime did was look for Nagito. He knew that Nagito didn't know much so he was pretty quiet, but at the same time, he was quieter than normal. Hajime saw Nagito once he left Monokuma rock, who was already walking away. Hajime picked up his pace a little, trying to catch up with him.

"Nagito...!" Hajime almost had to run because of how fast Nagito was walking.

Nagito stopped dead in his tracks after hearing Hajime, before turning his head, "hm?"

"Could we walk for a bit maybe?" Hajime asked.

"Uh... sure" Nagito nodded, letting Hajime come up beside him.

Hajime began to walk with Nagito back towards the hotel, though his hands kept fidgeting. He didn't know what to do with them. He was going to lift his hand to Nagito's back to comfort him, as Nagito still seemed to be a little shaken. But he pulled his hand away out of nerves. After they arrived to the hotel ground, Hajime went to the porch of his cottage and sat down, beckoning Nagito over.

Once Nagito was sat down, Hajime looked to him, "is everything ok...?"

"What do you mean?" Nagito leaned on his hands, "I'm pretty good"

"It's ok to be upset about Ibuki-"

"It's fine you don't have to worry about it" Nagito cut Hajime off.

This pretty much proved Hajime's concerns. Nagito wasn't usually that snappy, and Hajime wanted to help.

Hajime gently reached over, taking Nagito's hand, "if you're upset it's ok... I know it's not always a pleasant feeling, but sometimes you gotta let it out, yknow?"

Hajime wasn't really the best at comforter, but he was trying his best.

Nagito looked up to Hajime, before sighing, "yeah, I guess I am a little upset... like I said, the last time something like this happened it was my parents..."

Hajime scooted a little closer to Nagito, gently hugging him, "is there anything I can do...? Do you need to cry or anything?"

"No... but... this is nice..." Nagito said softly.

"Do you want to talk at all?" Hajime asked, rubbing Nagito's back. Then he remembered about the two of them in the hospital, "actually... could I ask you something?"

Nagito looked up and to Hajime, "sure, what is it?"

"Well when we were talking in the hospital, I asked you whether or not you've been sick or hurt at all before you went to Hope's Peak" Hajime said.

"Oh yeah, well... technically I'm still sick" Nagito said, "well it's terminal, but I hope my luck is on my side"

"What?" Hajime's eyes widened a little, "oh, Nagito... I'm sorry to hear about that... but is it ok if I ask about it?"

"Yeah it's fine" Nagito smiled a little, "the doctors diagnosed me with both advanced lymphoma and frontotemporal dementia before I was accepted into Hope's Peak... so really as we speak, my brain is slowly deteriorating... it's kinda cool, but maybe not so great on my part"

Hajime was shocked, this was pretty heavy and Nagito just seemed to brush it off, "it's... cool...?"

"Yeah, I mean heck, even if I end up dying at an early age at least I'm ready" Nagito said, "no one would really miss me, so it's no big deal"

"Ah- I'd miss you!" Hajime pulled away from their hug, "but we did meet in the past... but why didn't I recognize you...?"

"Oh, well I guess I've changed a bit since I got diagnosed..." Nagito said, "my hair used to be a light brown, I've gotten quite a bit paler and I've lost a ton of weight, so we might've met early in my treatment"

Hajime thought for a moment, "the brown hair does sound a little familiar... maybe we did..." he said softly.

"Maybe we'll remember when we get our school memories back" Nagito suggested.

Hajime nodded and looked at Nagito, sighing softly. He remembered what Fuyuhiko asked him. Did he ever really think about how he felt about Nagito? When Nagito first told him, he just rejected on impulse and never thought about it.

"Nagito... I..." Hajime sighed, "I don't know how I feel about you..." he admitted.

"Huh?" Nagito tilted his head, "what do you mean Hajime?"

"I don't know..." Hajime sighed and shook his head, "anyways, it's getting pretty late, can we talk again tomorrow?" 

"Yeah sure" Nagito nodded, then stood, "I'll see you in the morning for breakfast" he smiled and waved.

"Yeah, see you Nagito" Hajime said, before he headed inside his cottage.

Hajime hurried into the bathroom, he needed a shower to take his mind off of everything. He turned the water on and undressed himself, before stepping into the shower. Hajime groaned softly, letting the water run down his body. Everything was running through his mind at once. Nagito, the trial, he just needed a break. Hajime almost felt like he was going crazy, he just wanted all of this to be over.

He ran his fingers through his hair, sleep might help right? Hopefully, he thought to himself, maybe that was all he needed. Maybe they could have a few normal days before anything else happened. 

After Hajime was finished showering, he got out of the shower and grabbed his towel. He wrapped himself up in it and sat down on the floor, leaning his forehead onto his knees. He was so tired, he felt like he could fall asleep right there. Hajime sat up and got himself up, he just had to get changed and into his bed and then he could sleep. He hastily dried himself off and went back into his room, grabbing his clothes and getting changed. Then he flopped onto his bed, please let tomorrow be better, he thought before falling asleep.

The morning was quiet, everyone barely uttered a peep during breakfast. It was especially quiet with Kazuichi, Fuyuhiko, Akane, and Nagito. It'd be really hard for them without one of the loudest ones with them. Though Nagito was able to see a ray of hope, at least he'd be able to see Hajime and take his mind off of the loss of Ibuki. 

Once the menacingly silent morning was over, Nagito hurried to meet up with Hajime, who was just leaving the restaurant.

"Hey Hajime...!" Nagito smiled a little, "so you wanted to talk?"

"Ah- yeah" Hajime jumped a little at Nagito's sudden appearance, but nodded.

"Where do you wanna go? How about the pool?" Nagito suggested.

"Sure, that sounds good" Hajime said as the two of them went down the stairs to the restaurant, "I'll go get changed ok?"

"Alright, me too!" Nagito nodded, before hurrying to his own cottage to get changed himself.

Nagito was the first back, sitting by the edge of the pool and dipping his legs into the water. He watched the small little ripples in the water he made as he gently kicked his legs under the water. Then Nagito heard one of the doors to the cottages shut, looking up and smiling. Hajime walked over with a towel in hand, before joining Nagito.

"I got lucky, they have swim shirts" Hajime said.

"Oh? What's wrong with your torso?" Nagito asked, pulling his legs out of the water and standing up.

"Oh nothing, I just don't like taking my shirt off, so this is better for me" Hajime said, "anyways, you wanna get in?"

"Yeah, let's go!" Nagito smiled, hurrying into the pool.

The water was nice and cool, considering how warm it was. Nagito sunk right into the water smiling softly to himself, with Hajime not too far behind him. Once they were both comfortably in the water, Nagito floated on over to Hajime.

"So, you wanna talk about yesterday?" He asked, bobbing up and down in the water softly.

"Yeah, I guess..." Hajime said, "ugh... I don't even know where to start..."

Nagito stood up all the way out of the water, "well... you mentioned you didn't know how you felt about me...?"

"Yeah..." Hajime looked down.

"Then let's start there" Nagito suggested.

"Uh.. well, Fuyuhiko mentioned that to me... and I realized that I only really rejected you because I don't know how I feel..." Hajime said, "I'm sorry Nagito, I should've thought about it before saying anything..."

"Well, have you given any thought about it now?" Nagito asked, tilting his head softly.

Hajime chuckled at that. Nagito almost always tilted his head when asking a question. It made him look like a dog, which was almost quite cute, "well... not really, everything's just been kinda happening all at once lately, yknow?" 

"Yeah, I understand" Nagito chuckled softly, "you take all the time you need, I'll wait for you..." 

"Are you sure? You don't have to wait for me..." Hajime said.

"I want to" Nagito smiled, "if I'm patient and have hope, I'll be ok"

Hajime sighed softly, "Alrighty, if you say so"

Then the two began to float around the pool. Nagito was satisfied simply with Hajime not knowing how he felt, that meant he still had a chance. Nagito smiled and brushed all the hair back and out of his face, before going to look back to Hajime to speak. But he didn't realize how far he was moving as he misstepped into the deep end. Nagito yelped, but was soon met with two arms under his armpits as he was pulled back up.

"Ah... guess I wasn't looking, sorry" Nagito said softly.

Hajime chuckled, "it's fine, don't worry about it, how about you come here?"

"What do you want?" Nagito asked as he stood back up.

Hajime gently lifted him up, "here, now you can't slip again"

"Oh-" Nagito jumped a little, then reached to Hajime and wrapped his arms around his neck, "thank you..." he said softly.

"Don't worry about it, can't have you drowning right?" Hajime chuckled softly.

"Well you probably wouldn't be happy" Nagito said, chuckling as well.

"No, I wouldn't..." Hajime shook his head, sinking into the water with Nagito, "but I bet we'll be ok now, right?"

"I have hope" Nagito smiled, "if everyone has hope, then we might be able to get out..."

Hajime looked to Nagito. The way Nagito could still smile when talking about escaping this island felt almost comforting, "yeah.. I'll have hope too..." 

"Yeah?" Nagito smiled wider, "that's great Hajime! I'm glad we can share the same feeling of hope together, it's truly an honour!"

“You don’t have to be...” Hajime said, “I just agree with you”

“And I’m honoured that I get to share the same ideals with you...” Nagito said, leaning his forehead onto Hajime’s.

That caught Hajime off guard. He wasn’t even sure if Nagito knew what he was doing, but it left Hajime blushing. Yeah, blushing. That was a first for Hajime. He never thought that’d really be something Nagito had been able to do. Don’t get him wrong, he knew Nagito was pretty clever, but he just never really thought Nagito would or could do that. All while Hajime was a blushing mess, Nagito just sat there quietly, gazing into Hajime’s eyes. 

Nagito himself was just completely lost within Hajime’s eyes, he had completely tuned out the rest of his surroundings. He didn’t even notice the almost shocked expression on Hajime’s face. He was so hopeful, he just wanted to be Hajime’s so bad. A small blush started to creep up on Nagito’s cheeks, along with a smile spreading across his face.

“Hajime... your eyes are so pretty you know that...?” Nagito whispered.

Hajime was pulled out from his flustered state, but only to blush deeper, “y-yeah...?”

“Mhm... and I really like pretty things, you know?” Nagito said, “I guess that’s one of the reasons I admire you so much, but I know that’s not the only reason...”

Hajime remained quiet. Heck, he didn’t even know if he could say anything. He was speechless, completely speechless.

“No, I admire so much about you Hajime... you are ideal, you are so special Hajime, I can see it inside you...” Nagito cupped Hajime’s cheeks, smiling wide, “there’s hope inside you... I know it... Hajime... I think... I think you’re my hope...”

“Ah... what do you mean...?” Hajime mumbled, almost hyper aware of how soft Nagito’s hands were as they pressed against his cheeks.

“You’re all I need... with us together, hope will prevail no matter what!” Nagito squeezed Hajime’s cheeks a little, “I’ve been happier than I’ve ever been Hajime... I wanna to further... would you please... please just give it some consideration...?”

Hajime looked to Nagito. How was he supposed to respond to that? Hajime reached up to where Nagito’s hands were on his cheeks and gently held them. He sighed a little, why was he even holding himself back? Hajime already knew the answer, but he kept telling himself that he might be wrong. He knew that he wanted Nagito, he knew that all he was doing when hanging out with others was just to get his mind off of Nagito, much like Nagito was doing. Hajime had no idea why he’d been denying it for so long, why he so impulsively rejected Nagito when he knew that all he wanted was to just say yes. But for some reason, the words just wouldn’t come out. 

He just looked up to Nagito, “ah- Nagito...”

“Hm...?” Nagito looked back down to Hajime, finally noticing his blush, “are you ok...? Are you sick...?”

Hajime shook his head, “no, no... I... I think I’ve made up my mind...”

“You did?” Nagito tilted his head.

“Yeah... um... yeah...” Hajime nodded, then chuckled softly, “why don’t we join forces then...?”

“Wait... really...?” Nagito smiled.

Hajime nodded and smiled as well, “yeah...”

Nagito was let down by Hajime as his hands started to shake. It’d been forever since he’d felt so happy, he couldn’t believe it. Nagito would’ve been jumping up and down in the pool if it weren’t, you know, filles with water. Nagito returned to Hajime, hugging him tightly.

“You’re not kidding right...?” Nagito was still shaking out of excitement.

“No, no of course not, I promise...” Hajime said, “I don’t know why I didn’t say anything sooner Nagito, I’m sorry...”

“Don’t apologize Hajime...” Nagito held Hajime’s cheeks, “I’m just glad it happened...” 

Hajime smiled a little, “then is it ok for me to say I love you...?”

Nagito blushed deeply and nodded, “yeah... I like that... I love you Hajime...” he said as he smiled. It felt so right to come out of his mouth, he felt overjoyed.

Hajime held Nagito close to him, “yeah, I love you too...”

Nagito released himself from Hajime again for a moment, “oh my... I can’t believe this, Hajime you- ah!”

Nagito was cut off by another misstep, the deep end of the pool would be the death of him. Hajime hurried over and caught him again, laughing softly.

“You ok?” He asked, pulling Nagito back into the shallow end.

Nagito chuckled a little himself, “yeah, yeah I’m ok... especially since I got help from you” he said, poking Hajime in the nose.

Hajime blushed softly, “well I’m glad to help... you wanna get out so you don’t drown?” Hajime chuckled.

“Yeah, that’d probably be a good idea” Nagito said softly, starting to get out of the pool with Hajime.

The two of them got out of the pool and grabbed their towels, before starting to dry off. Hajime moved over to Nagito and gently put his chin on his shoulder, “you wanna have a sleepover tonight?”

“Oh you’re asking me whether or not you willingly want me to sleep with you this time?” Nagito chuckled softly, “I’d love to...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this wasn’t too rushed- at least they’re finally allowed to love each other jfjfjfjfjf


	10. Chapter 10

Once the two boys were changed out of their swimsuits, they made their way to the restaurant. Nagito was excited, nearly bouncing up and down as he got his food. Hajime chuckled softly, following behind him.

"Do you wanna come sit where I normally sit?" Nagito looked to Hajime.

"Sounds good to me" Hajime smiled. He was glad to see Nagito so happy.

Nagito smiled and took Hajime's hand, bringing him towards one of the far sets of chairs. He let go of Hajime's hand for a moment to wave to the three already sitting down to get their attention.

"Mind if someone else joins us?" Nagito asked, putting his plate down on the table.

Kazuichi looked up to Hajime, then saw Nagito's hand in his, "wait dude... no way!" He smiled, "did you two...?"

Nagito giggled and nodded, sitting down with Hajime beside him. Fuyuhiko let out a small chuckle, "good for you Nagito..."

"Yeah!" Akane pat Nagito on the back, "you already look like- 10x more happier than yesterday!"

"Is it really that obvious?" Nagito chuckled softly.

"Yeah, kinda" Hajime chuckled, wrapping an arm around Nagito.

"Ah- really?" Nagito blushed, looking over to Hajime. He was almost embarrassed, he didn't think his emotions were that obvious to the others.

"Mhm..." Hajime leaned over and gently kissed the side of Nagito's head.

Nagito looked over to Hajime, his face slowly getting redder and redder. This had never happened to him before, so it was a bit of an overwhelming experience for Nagito. He tried to open his mouth and say something, but all that managed to come out were strained sputters and tiny nervous laughter.

"I think you broke him" Fuyuhiko chuckled, starting to eat his food.

Hajime chuckled as well, "you ok Nagito...?" He asked, he hoped he didn't seriously break Nagito.

"Ah- y-yeah..." Nagito mumbled, nodding a bit.

"Do you need me to feed you again or something?" Hajime teased, rubbing Nagito's back.

"Wait, you actually fed him?" Kazuichi asked.

"When he was tied up? Yeah" Hajime nodded, "he had a good point that he just couldn't do anything without his hands, so that's why I took longer to return"

"Wow, you guys were truly destined to be!" Akane said, giggling softly.

"Ah- I was just doing it to be nice!" Hajime blushed a little.

"Ok, ok we get it, you guys are lovebirds" Fuyuhiko chuckled, waving his hand in the air, "let's just eat before the food gets cold"

"Yeah, good idea..." Hajime nodded, "are you ok Nagito?" He asked.

Nagito nodded, his face slowly returning back to its usual pale colour, "yeah, I'm great" he chuckled softly.

"Good, I don't wanna break you by accident" Hajime giggled, getting into his food.

"Only by accident?" Nagito asked.

"Mmm depends" Hajime said. It was strange for him, he wasn't used to cracking all these jokes all the time and making Nagito all flushed.

"On what exactly?" Nagito leaned on his hands.

"I don't know" Hajime shrugged, chuckling softly.

"Just be quiet..." Nagito gave Hajime a little push, then focused on eating.

Once they were finished with eating, Hajime was the one to grab Nagito's hand and start bringing him back towards the cottages.

"You're quite eager Hajime" Nagito chuckled softly.

"Well it's exciting, right?" Hajime asked, "we have each other now"

Nagito smiled and squeezed Hajime's hand, picking up the pace a bit, "yeah, yeah you're right!"

Nagito was glad. He could finally do whatever he pleased with Hajime. Well maybe not everything quite yet, but he was excited that now he had an excuse to be around Hajime all the time. The two went into entered Hajime's cottage and they both flopped onto the bed. Nagito sat up and crawled over to Hajime, gently hugging him and curling up with him.

Hajime rubbed Nagito's back, "you wanna get comfy?" 

"How so? I'm pretty comfy with you already Hajime..." Nagito said softly.

"Like pyjamas and stuff" Hajime said, sitting up on his elbows.

"Oh yeah, that might be a good idea" Nagito smiled, sitting up with Hajime, "are you ok if I sleep in my boxers?"

"Yeah it's fine, it's what I do too" Hajime said, getting up off the bed and pulling Nagito with him.

Nagito smiled, taking his jacket off and hanging it up. Then he went into the bathroom, changing in there while Hajime changed in the bedroom. Nagito soon left the bathroom, tossing his pants off to the side.

"You know you could've changed out here, right?" Hajime said.

"Really? I just thought that since you don't like taking your shirt off around others it'd be the same just kinda for changing in general" Nagito said, "that's good to know though"

"Well I guess that makes sense" Hajime said, going towards the bed. Then he stopped, "are you going to take your socks off?"

"Hm? Why?" Nagito asked.

"Isn't it uncomfortable?" Hajime crossed his arms.

"They keep my feet warm!" Nagito said, "also they're pretty comfy for me"

Hajime sighed and shook his head, "Nagito you're weird..."

"You're the weird one Hajime, how are you not cold?" Nagito said, laying down on the bed.

"Because I have a blanket?" Hajime chuckled, going to join Nagito, "I don't know if I'll ever completely understand you Nagito"

"Me neither" Nagito said as Hajime sat down, "but right now, hugs"

"I agree..." Hajime smiled softly, laying down and wrapping his arms around Nagito.

Nagito held Hajime as well, looking up to him, "are we gonna kiss tonight...?"

"Why are you asking that?" Hajime chuckled.

"I dunno" Nagito shrugged, "I just thought I'd ask" 

"Well we'll just see how it goes, ok?" Hajime said softly.

"Sounds good" Nagito smiled, then settled down beside Hajime.

Hajime smiled and held Nagito overtop of him. He rubbed Nagito's back, with his hands slowly trailing up his back until they reached Nagito's hair. Now that he was taking proper care of it, his hair was much softer. As Hajime played with Nagito's hair, Nagito laid his cheek on the other boy's chest, yawning a little bit. He was starting to get a little tired, and with the soothing feeling of Hajime's hands in his hair Nagito swore he could fall asleep right there.

But he stayed awake. As much as he wanted to pass out right there, he also wanted to be awake to feel Hajime there. Plus, Hajime didn't seem like he was ready to sleep now, so he felt it'd be unfair if he fell asleep while Hajime was still very much awake.

"That feels nice..." Nagito mumbled, maybe talking would keep him up, "you should have a turn too Hajime, I want you to feel nice..."

"You wanna switch around once I'm done with your hair?" Hajime asked.

"Mhm, I want you to feel nice Hajime..." Nagito smiled softly. 

Hajime chuckled softly, "sounds good to me..."

Hajime continued to gently play with Nagito's hair. Considering what he saw out of him in the first trial, Hajime didn't expect him to be so soft and almost careful with Hajime. Maybe Nagito really was a chill guy, he just needed support sometimes, and Hajime was willing to give him that. He knew that Nagito would do almost anything for him, so the least Hajime could do was help Nagito as well.

Nagito scooted forward a little so he was up further on Hajime. He reached up and gently touched Hajime's hair, before letting his hands settle in his hair.

"Someone's impatient..." Hajime chuckled softly.

"Do you want me to stop?" Nagito chuckled as well, starting to play with Hajime's hair.

"No, not at all" Hajime said, smiling softly, "oh wow you're right, this is nice..." he said as Nagito started.

The two sat there quietly, just looking at each other and playing with each other's hair. They felt like they could just sit there for an eternity, but Hajime had other plans. He moved his hands from from Nagito's hair and brought them to his cheeks. Then without warning, placed a small quick kiss on Nagito's lips.

Nagito's eyes widened as he blushed softly, "did you... did you just do that...?"

Hajime chuckled softly, "mhm..."

Nagito smiled, "can we do that again?"

Hajime nodded and smiled as well, "yeah, yeah we can"

Nagito giggled, leaning towards Hajime and kissing him again. This time Hajime held Nagito's cheeks again, but they let it linger a bit. Once they pulled away, they both smiled wide.

"I've always wanted a kiss... thank you for this Hajime..." Nagito said softly.

"No need to thank me, I'm just as happy as you are..." Hajime chuckled softly.

Nagito sat up a bit, "yes, yes I'm so happy!" He smiled, "oh Hajime... you're too nice... how did you fall for someone like me...?"

"You're just really nice Nagito..." Hajime said softly, "and although I've seen other sides of you, I still know that you have a kind heart at your core..."

"Wow... you really mean it...?" Nagito asked, "I've never gotten a compliment like that... not even from my own mother..."

"Seriously? That sounds... cruel" Hajime said, "do you mind if I ask about your parents...?"

"Not at all!" Nagito smiled, "short form is that they're both dead. They died while we were flying back home from a vacation, some hijackers got on, but a meteor struck at just the right time and killed them! Sadly taken my parents with them..."

Hajime didn't know what to say, could Nagito really talk about his parents so lightly? He shook his head and looked to Nagito, "I'm... I'm so sorry Nagito..."

"Oh don't worry about it! It happened a long time ago" Nagito said softly.

"Alrighty then..." Hajime said, "what were they like?"

"Well... they were just kinda there I guess" Nagito shrugged, "they did what they had to to be parents, but that was about it..."

"Jeez Nagito..." Hajime held him close, "can I make up for all the love you should've gotten as a kid...?"

"Oh... you don't have to Hajime..." Nagito said softly. 

"I'm still gonna try" Hajime chuckled softly.

“Well, I wish you luck darling...” Nagito said softly, rubbing his cheek on Hajime’s shoulder.

“Darling...?” Hajime blushed softly, looking down to Nagito.

“Is it ok if I call you that?” Nagito asked, meeting eyes with Hajime. 

“Of course...” Hajime giggled, “I like that, darling...” then he rubbed Nagito’s back, “how about we call it a night...?”

“Yeah, that might be a good idea...” Nagito yawned softly then rolled off of Hajime.

Hajime sat up a little, then pulled the blankets over the two of them. Then he laid back down and rolled over to face Nagito, “goodnight...”

“Goodnight... darling...” Nagito giggled softly.

Hajime blushed a little, looking away. Nagito couldn’t help but laugh a little harder, he liked seeing Hajime flustered. Once Hajime could look back to Nagito, they got all comfy and cuddled with each other. They both said goodnight one more time to each other, then the two fell asleep.

An interruption didn’t come until sometime in the middle of the night. Nagito woke up and stumbled out of the bed and towards the bathroom. He didn’t even bother with turning the light on, he didn’t need to be blinded at this time of night. He finished and yawned while he washed his hands, rubbing his eyes once he was done. Then he went to go back to bed, but didn’t realize there was a small gap between the tiles and floor, causing him to trip and fall before he could do anything.

Hajime immediately shot up after he heard the loud thud, “who’s dead?!” He exclaimed, then went to turn the light on. He saw Nagito sitting up, “oh... are you ok Nagito...?” He asked, getting out of bed to go check on him and offer a hand.

“I’m fine...” Nagito chuckled, taking Hajime’s and standing up, “I just missed a step, sorry for waking you”

“Oh no, it’s ok” Hajime said softly, “let’s just head back to bed...”

Nagito nodded and went back to the bed with Hajime, “I hope that was just bad luck...”

“Maybe it was, that means good luck is coming right?” Hajime asked, tucking the two of them in again.

“Yeah, some good luck would be nice” Nagito smiled, “but I’ve kept the two of us up for long enough, night night Hajime...”

Hajime smiled, “goodnight Nagito...” he said softly, before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I took a while coming out with this chapter, so sorry! I may have made an au and became completely invested in it-


	11. Chapter 11

Everything was good, everything was great.

Things seemed to have been finally going well for everyone on the island, especially the two lovebirds Hajime and Nagito. Sitting together at breakfast and dinner had become a new daily routine for them, and now it was like they had all the time in the world to be together.

Today everyone just wanted to relax. The newest island had opened, but everyone just needed time to unwind before going to explore more. 

As usual, when Nagito and Hajime sat down for breakfast, Kazuichi was the first one to greet them, "morning you two!"

"Hey..." Hajime yawned softly, leaning on his hand as Nagito leaned onto him.

"Are you guys ok?" Kazuichi asked.

"Yeah we're fine... this one just decided to keep me up all night..." Hajime said and pointed to Nagito, who already looked like he was half asleep again.

"How'd that happen?" Akane asked, "what exactly were you guys doing?" She giggled softly.

"Nagito tossed and turned all night... he even kicked me a few times..." Hajime said, "and him somehow falling off the bed or out of the bathroom feels like a daily thing now..." 

"I'm sorry I hurt you Hajime..." Nagito said with a bit of a whine, holding his arm.

Hajime chuckled softly, "I'm not mad, don't worry..." he said, hugging Nagito gently.

"Ok, pack it up lovebirds!" Fuyuhiko said, "do this shit on your own time, I'd rather eat without seeing you two make out please?"

"Ah- sorry" Nagito chuckled softly, letting go of Hajime.

It may have sounded harsh, but the two boys were willing to go along with Fuyuhiko's wishes. Everyone ate relatively quietly, so it seemed that Hajime and Nagito weren't the only two that were tired. But after they finished eating, Nagito got up and grabbed Hajime's hand.

"Hold on Nagito, I'm coming..." Hajime said, standing up with Nagito, "we're not in a rush, why're you so eager?"

Nagito shrugged, "I like spending time with you Hajime, that's all"

"Is that really all?" Hajime chuckled softly, leaving the restaurant with him.

"Honestly, I don't know" Nagito giggled, "I've never been in love before, so I guess I'm just really happy to have you"

"You've never been in love? Not even a crush as a kid?" Hajime asked.

"No, not really" Nagito shook his head, "I guess I was just subconsciously saving my feelings for you or something"

"That's kinda cool I guess" Hajime chuckled softly. 

"Yeah! Is it like soulmates or something?" Nagito asked, holding Hajime's arm as they walked.

"Who knows? That'd be interesting..." Hajime said softly. He enjoyed the things Nagito could come up with, he gave Hajime a lot to think about sometimes.

"That probably wouldn't be good luck to you though" Nagito chuckled, "If we were soulmates I'd feel so bad for you..."

"What? Why?" Hajime stopped walking, looking over to Nagito.

"I mean, who'd want to spend the rest of their life with me?" Nagito chuckled softly.

"Huh? I mean... I would..." Hajime said, frowning a little.

"You would?" Nagito let go of Hajime for a moment, "you'd really settle for someone like me?" 

"I- not just settle... Nagito, I'd spend every waking moment of my life with you" Hajime took Nagito's hands, "I love you so much... and I promise that I will stay by you as long as I'm alive..." 

The two stared in silence for a moment, before Hajime noticed faint tears forming in Nagito's eyes. The look in his eyes told Hajime everything, he was obviously really doubtful of that statement. Nagito probably never heard anything like this before, so it looked like he was having a hard time processing it. Hajime immediately hugged Nagito close when he saw the first few tears break free. He hadn’t really seen Nagito cry too much, so this was a first for him.

"I'm not lying, I promise..." Hajime whispered.

Nagito hugged Hajime back, sniffling softly, "I've never felt like this before Hajime... you better not be lying..." he smiled a little, “I just... I’m not used to all this stuff... and as much as all of this shit has hurt in the past, it’s all worth it in the end... you just- you better not be lying...” he mumbled, trying to blink tears out of his eyes.

"I understand how you feel Nagito... and I know that it’s probably not easy for you to take this kind of stuff..." Hajime said softly, lifting his hand, “But I pinky promise, I’m not lying to you

Nagito wiped his eyes a little bit, but locked pinkies with Hajime, "screw you for making me cry..." he pouted a little

"Sorry about that..." Hajime said, "will a beach visit make up for it?"

"Sounds great Hajime!" Nagito nodded and took Hajime's hand, before making his way towards Hajime's cottage. At this point, it was almost like Nagito's cottage too, seeing as he had basically moved in with Hajime.

Hajime chuckled as he followed Nagito. Once they got to their cottage, Nagito hurried to find their swimsuits. He nearly threw Hajime's swimsuit in his face, then ran off to get changed.

"Jeez Nagito, you're eager" Hajime chuckled, starting to also get changed.

"I'm excited now!" Nagito yelled from inside the bathroom.

Hajime smiled. He was happy to see Nagito so upbeat. Even if he was crying not even 5 minutes ago, it was amazing how fast he could change his mood. 

Then Nagito came out of the bathroom in his swimsuit, "ok, I'm all set!"

Hajime chuckled softly and held his hand out for Nagito, "Alrighty, let's go"

Nagito started to run again, nearly dragging Hajime out the door and down towards the beach. He kept going until he eventually slowed down when he got to the hotel's gates, letting out a small exhale as he folded forward.

"Ah- you ok Nagito?" Hajime asked, gently rubbing his back.

"I've got bad stamina... sorry..." Nagito chuckled softly. Seemed like he was a little too excited.

"Hm... come here, I'll give you a piggyback" Hajime said, taking Nagito's hand and standing him up straight.

"A piggyback...?" Nagito tilted his head a little, "really?"

"Yeah... here, hop on" Hajime turned around for Nagito.

Nagito got up behind Hajime and gently wrapped his arms around his neck. Then Nagito jumped and wrapped his legs around Hajime's waist. The brunet tucked his hands under Nagito's thighs, then started to walk him to the beach.

"Oh wow... this is fun!" Nagito said, "can we do this more often?"

"Yeah, if you want to" Hajime smiled and chuckled softly.

Once the two boys arrived at the beach, Hajime gently let Nagito down. Then almost immediately, Nagito grabbed onto Hajime's hand and ran towards the water. It seemed like Nagito had already gotten over earlier.

"Ahh, Nagito! It's cold!!" Hajime squeezed Nagito's hand as they got in the water.

Nagito looked back to Hajime and let go of his hand, "oh, sorry" he chuckled softly.

Hajime backed up a little so he could get used to the water a bit, "it's fine... but I don't get you, aren't you normally pretty cold? Isn't the water cold?"

"If you get in fast then you'll get used to it faster" Nagito smiled, "you know, sometimes you just gotta get right in!" He said, sitting back and plopping down into the water.

"Jeez... you're fast" Hajime crossed his arms, chuckling softly.

"Now it's your turn!" Nagito said, reaching his arms out of the water to Hajime.

"Oh- are you sure?" Hajime chuckled a little. He saw Nagito just nod and then looked to the water, "ok... how should I do this...?"

"Just count to 3 and sit" Nagito chuckled, "ready?"

"Uh- I guess?" Hajime said.

Nagito counted down for Hajime, then the brunet sat in the water. He tensed up a little, letting out a long drawn out groan as the cold water enveloped him. Hajime looked over to Nagito, who looked like he was holding back his laughter. He crossed his arms, pouting a little.

"I'm sorry, I just find it cute!" Nagito giggled softly.

"Cute, huh?" Hajime blushed softly, "I... I guess we can go with that"

"Oh, do you not like that? I can call you something different if you want" Nagito said softly.

"No no, it's ok..." Hajime chuckled, crawling over so he was closer to Nagito.

"Alrighty cutie..." Nagito smiled, kissing Hajime's cheek gently.

Hajime blushed deeper, giggling and hiding his face. Nagito was the only one that could really make Hajime blush like that, and honestly he wasn't mad. The soft blush he got always came with butterflies in his stomach, and Nagito could always make the butterflies go away with kisses or any other kind of affection. He was glad to have Nagito by his side, and he hoped Nagito felt the same.

"And if I call you cutie?" Hajime asked, leaning on Nagito's shoulder.

"Shush..." Nagito giggled, blushing and looking away.

"But you can call me cutie!" Hajime wrapped his arms around Nagito's waist and held him close, giving the white haired boy a small sarcastic pout.

"I know, but I'm not that cute Hajime!" Nagito giggled, "you're the one who's cute... you're the cutest Hajime..."

"Thank you... but you know I think you're cute too..." Hajime said softly.

"I'll let you keep believing that then..." Nagito chuckled, hugging Hajime gently.

Hajime sighed softly. He didn't want to fight Nagito about this right now, he hoped with time that the white haired boy would be able to at least try to stop being so self deprecating. They sat quietly in the ocean, letting the gentle waves sway the two from side to side. It felt weirdly familiar, yet it was calming, a nice break from all the hectic activity on the island. Even if the two weren't talking, just being there for each other was ok. Hajime wondered if there was any wildlife in the sea. Maybe they might get eaten up by shark or something. Wait, no Hajime, that's a thought Nagito should have. Was he really starting to think like Nagito? I guess that's from being around him all the time. He wasn't mad, but he wondered if Nagito was starting to think like Hajime as well.

The two seemed to sit there, both lost in thought and held each other for what seemed like forever. They hadn't even realized how long they'd been sitting there until they saw how pruny they'd become.

Hajime pulled away from Nagito gently, "Jeez... has it really been that long?"

Nagito looked down to his hands, "oh wow... I guess it has been, I hope we're not late for dinner!" He said, standing up out of the water. Though that probably wasn't the best idea. Nagito was meant with chills, crossing his arms over his body.

"Slow down Nagito" Hajime chuckled, gently standing up himself, "let's just go grab our towels, then maybe you'll get warmer"

Nagito tried to run towards the shore, fighting back against the resistance of the water. He just needed to get warm and then he’d be happy. Hajime tried to keep up with the white haired boy, but Nagito was already running along the beach to where they had dropped some towels. 

“Jeez...” Hajime tried to speed up and catch up to Nagito.

Once the brunet was out of the water, he ran to catch up with Nagito. Now that he was fully out of the water, he could feel how cold it was. Hajime grabbed the other towel beside Nagito’s and immediately wrapped himself up in it. Then the two boys huddled together, trying to find some extra warmth in each other.

Nagito giggled softly, “this was nice Hajime, thank you...”

“Do you forgive me for making you cry?” Hajime chuckled.

“Yeah, I’m all better now” Nagito smiled, “again, thank you Hajime...”

“Don’t worry about it, I didn’t want to feel the wrath of an upset Nagito” Hajime hugged Nagito gently.

“I don’t get upset or mad easy, so I don’t think you’ll have to in the future...” Nagito said softly, kissing Hajime’s cheek.

Hajime blushed softly and giggled, “well that’s good... then I guess I’m safe then”

“Yeah, I guess you are” Nagito smiled, “we should head back though, right? I wouldn’t want anyone worrying about you”

Hajime nodded a little, “yeah, we probably don’t wanna keep everyone waiting for us” he said, pulling away from the hug and gently taking Nagito’s hand.

The two boys went back to the hotel grounds, heading back to their cottage to get changed. They seemed to be right on time as by the time they were changed, it was pretty much time to get dinner. Nagito nearly skipped as he went ahead of Hajime to the restaurant. He seemed pretty excited, but Hajime didn’t exactly know why. But Nagito seemed to excite easily, either that or he was still happy about their little beach trip.

Once Hajime arrived in the restaurant, Nagito was already sat at their usual table. The only other person there was Kazuichi and the two didn’t even have any food yet. Nagito seemed to be really invested in what he was telling Kaz, seeing as he was leaned so far over the table that he was almost on top of it. Hajime chuckled softly, then went over to the two.

“Is Nagito harassing you?” Hajime asked, sitting down beside Nagito.

“Oh, I hope not!” Nagito chuckled, “I was just excited from today, sorry Kazuichi! I’m sure you don’t wanna listen to someone like me ramble on...”

“Oh, don’t worry” Kaz chuckled as well, “it was actually pretty entertaining”

“How about we go get some food and then you can go ahead and continue?” Hajime wrapped an arm around Nagito.

“Yes! Then I can tell Fuyuhiko and Akane too!” Nagito smiled, sitting back in his seat and then standing up.

The three all got up, then went to get some food. They caught up with Fuyuhiko and Akane on their way, walking with them back to where they normally sat.

“What’s got him all riled up?” Fuyuhiko asked, pointing to Nagito who still seemed to be bouncing off the walls.

“Hajime and I went to the beach today” Nagito giggled as he sat down, “he made me cry so that’s how he compensated”

“What? You made your boyfriend cry?” Akane gasped overdramatically, “that’s not very boyfriend-like of you” she chuckled.

“It was an accident!” Hajime got defensive, “I was complimenting him, I swear!”

Fuyuhiko seemed to actually be laughing along, “sounds like something a bad boyfriend would say.

“I’m not a bad boyfriend!” Hajime stood up. Then he looked to Nagito beside him, before sitting back down, “at least I don’t think...”

Nagito gently took Hajime’s hand, “don’t worry Hajime, you’re a great boyfriend...” he giggled softly.

Hajime smiled softly, letting out a small sigh of relief, “oh, good...”

Hajime could eat peacefully knowing that he was a great boyfriend in Nagito’s eyes. He never knew how much it really bothered him when someone would question whether or not he was a good boyfriend until now. He just really didn’t want to be seen that way. Hajime just wanted to be good in everyone’s eyes. He knew in Nagito’s eyes he was great, but what about everyone else? He didn’t want to come off as bad, he hoped to god that he didn’t come off that way.

He didn’t even realize that he’d zoned out while eating until he heard a small screech from his fork against his empty plate. Everyone else cringed or flinched at the sound, making all of their eyes land onto him.

“Sorry...” Hajime chuckled softly, trying to play it off as he stood up to get rid of his plate.

Nagito followed behind, putting his plate away too, “are you ready to go?”

Hajime nodded, “yeah let’s go, I could use some sleep...” he said, hopefully some sleep would help him forget about all of this.

Nagito left the restaurant with Hajime when they both realized just how cold it had gotten when the sun went down. Hajime crossed his arms in front of his chest, trying to warm himself up a little. Nagito noticed how cold Hajime and stopped.

He stopped Hajime and looked to him, before taking his jacket off and handing it to him, “you can wear my jacket Hajime, you look like you could use it...”

“The cottages aren’t that far, I’ll be ok” Hajime said softly.

“I insist” Nagito said, pushing his jacket towards Hajime.

Hajime looked to the jacket, then to Nagito. Jeez, he was already shivering and shaking. But Nagito looked like he was going to keep persisting. So Hajime just took the jacket, appreciating the kind gesture from the other boy. He pulled Nagito’s jacket on and smiled, it was really warm.

“Thank you Nagito... I really appreciate it...” Hajime smiled, taking Nagito’s hand.

“Don’t worry Hajime, I just wanna make sure you’re comfortable” Nagito said. Even if he was cold himself, Hajime’s comfort came first to him.

The two made the short walk from the restaurant to their cottage. Once they got into the warmer cottage, Hajime took Nagito’s jacket off and handed it back to him.

“Thank you again Nagito...” Hajime smiled softly.

“You don’t have to worry Hajime, really...” Nagito kissed Hajime softly, “I love you darling...”

Hajime couldn’t help but smile wider. He really did love the other boy so much. Everything from his excitable demeanour, to his ways of showing affection, and literally just the name darling was enough to make Hajime’s heart melt. He wished Nagito would be as nice to himself as he was with him. Hopefully he could help Nagito work on it.

Nagito hung up his jacket, then started to get undressed. Though he was stopped by Hajime, who seemed surprised.

“What?” Nagito looked to Hajime.

“Are you not gonna go into the bathroom...?” Hajime asked.

“Oh, yeah I guess I forgot” Nagito giggled softly, “but it should be fine right? We’re boyfriends after all so I can change out here right?”

“Ah- of course!” Hajime blushed softly, “I never had a problem with you changing out here in the first place”

The two boys then got undressed and ready for bed. Tomorrow it was back to exploring and trying to find a way off this island. But at least for now the two boys could cuddle together for a while. They both got comfy on the bed and got all bundled up under the covers, hopefully it wouldn’t always be this cold at night. But at the same time, it allowed the two to curl up close with each other and get comfy. The boys huddled together for warmth and closed their eyes, before slowly drifting off to sleep together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK ME SO LONG- Anyways, do you guys think the endings of the chapters are getting too repetitive? I just wanna make sure I’m not boring y’all


	12. Chapter 12

It seemed for once Hajime got a chance to sleep peacefully. Nagito slept rather peacefully the night before aside from a few occasional twitches. The two woke up pretty refreshed, but Nagito still ended up rolling off the bed as he woke.

Of course, he was fine like usual but Hajime still went all protective boyfriend mode whenever he heard the thump on the floor. It was almost a daily routine at this point. Nagito fell on the floor, Hajime shot out of bed to help him, then Nagito got up with a couple stumbles and they were on their way. Today was a day for exploring, so the two had to hurry and not be late for breakfast.

They ended up being some of the first people there, so they could get to all the good food first. Nagito and Hajime filled their plates up, then hurried towards their usual seat. Once they sat down, Nagito sat and played with his food a bit. He liked waiting until everyone who sat with them were there before eating, it just made him feel good. But Hajime on the other hand started munching on his food. He would try to wait with Nagito sometimes, but other times he was too hungry to wait. 

Soon the other three that sat with them arrived. It seemed like they all had a specific place they'd sit all the time. Hajime sat on the left, Nagito in the middle, and Akane on the right, while Kazuichi and Fuyuhiko both sat on the other side of the table. It was all routine to them. They'd just become so accustomed to doing this that no one even had to say a thing, they just knew.

"So, how did you guys sleep last night?" Fuyuhiko asked and looked to Nagito and Hajime, leaning on his hand as he ate.

"Surprisingly well," Hajime said, then pointed to Nagito, "this one actually slept soundly last night"

Nagito giggled softly, blushing a bit, "I was just pretty tired last night, I guess it just kinda worked..."

Hajime gently wrapped an arm around Nagito, "please try and sleep like that from now on, it'd benefit both of us..." he chuckled a little.

"You might've just jinxed it Hajime, knowing my luck." Nagito giggled softly.

Hajime sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I swear, I might have to kick you out."

Nagito gasped softly, a small frown appearing on his face, "I'll be good Hajime, I promise! Please don't kick me out, please!" He grabbed the brunet's hand, holding it close to his chest.

"Ah- Nagito I didn't really mean it..." Hajime said, squeezing Nagito's hand softly, "I was just being hyperbolic, I'm sorry. I won't be kicking you out anytime soon." Hajime smiled softly, hugging Nagito gently.

"Then why'd your say it?" Nagito asked.

"I was just over exaggerating," Hajime chuckled softly, "I won't say something like that again, sorry."

Now that everyone was there, Nagito started to eat. He was back to his usual self, being very social with the others around the table. Nagito always took a moment to appreciate the people that he was lucky enough to call friends. Sometimes he would just go quiet, smiling softly as he looked at everyone at the table. Whatever did he do to deserve them? He'd never know. But either way he was glad he had people to talk to. Then his eyes wandered over to Hajime. He leaned his elbow onto the table and let his head rest in his hand, he was forever grateful for Hajime. All Nagito wanted in life was to be loved, and there was the love of his life right there beside him. Hajime noticed Nagito's fond smile and looked over to him.

"Yes?" Hajime smiled softly.

"I don't know..." Nagito chuckled, blushing softly.

Hajime took Nagito's hand and moved closer, kissing the white haired boy softly. Nagito giggled softly and wrapped his arms around Hajime's shoulders. Hajime held Nagito's cheek as the two kissed, not even realizing the others were looking.

Fuyuhiko sighed a little, rubbing his forehead, "I thought I told you guys not to make out at the table."

The two boys stopped, remembering that they weren't the only two there. They both blushed, embarrassed while Nagito spoke up, "sorry Fuyuhiko, it was my fault! I'll control myself next time."

"Ah- Nagito that's wrong," Hajime rubbed the other's back, "you were literally just looking at me, it's fine..."

"Oh no no no, it's ok really! I can take the blame," Nagito smiled softly, "again, sorry Fuyuhiko."

"It's fine, just- just don't do it again..." Fuyuhiko sighed.

They all swiftly returned to their meals, just hurrying to finish everything. Once everyone was finished, they got to work. Everyone headed off to the newest island, it was time for all of them to explore. Nagito stuck with Hajime, holding his hand as they headed over.

Once they got over the bridge, both him and Hajime looked to what was in front of them, "an amusement park, huh?" Hajime said to himself.

"I think that's pretty cool..." Nagito smiled, "well, why don't we go look around? We might find something cool."

"Yeah, maybe," Hajime nodded, "let's get going."

Then the two started to wander, hitting everywhere that seemed relevant. The rollercoaster, the haunted house, the fun house, and the castle. Then they were told to go back to the rollercoaster, so they hurried on their way.

"You think we'll be able to ride it this time?" Nagito asked, smiling over to Hajime.

"Oh god... I don't think I could handle it," Hajime chuckled softly.

"What if I held your hand?" Nagito giggled, squeezing Hajime's hand gently.

"I mean... maybe...?" Hajime shrugged. All he knew is that he didn't want to go on the roller coaster.

Once the two got to the rollercoaster, they saw everyone else. They were teased a little for being the last ones there, and considering that they were together, then it was to be expected. Monokuma then showed up, and was ushering everyone onto the coaster. Hajime was apprehensive of course, but Nagito was there to reassure him. There was just a small problem though. Hajime and Nagito were sat in the very front. Hajime sat down on the inside, letting out a long exhale. Nagito sat beside him and pulled the bar down, resting his hand over Hajime's.

"It'll be fun, I promise!" Nagito smiled, "have you been on a roller coaster before?"

"No, I guess I'm a little bit of a chicken..." Hajime chuckled nervously.

Nagito shrugged a bit, "I think it's kinda reasonable, I mean, it took me until middle school to ride a roller coaster for the first time!"

Hajime scooted over so he was right up against Nagito. He'll be ok, he had Nagito with him. Nagito looked over to Hajime and gently kissed his cheek, giving him a reassuring smile

Then they felt a slight jerk as the roller coaster began moving. Hajime gripped the lap bar tightly, while Nagito squeezed his hand gently. He took a deep breath, he was gonna be fine. As they climbed the lift hill, Hajime squeezed his eyes shut. But he was quickly shook by Nagito.

"Open your eyes, it'll be fun!" Nagito smiled.

Hajime squinted his eyes as he opened them, the edge was right in front of them, "oh no..." he whispered, his stomach dropping.

As they went over the hill, Hajime watched Nagito let go of the lap bar and lift his arms in the air. As cheers erupted from the other boy, a small smile spread across Hajime's face. The adrenaline started to kick in as they went down the hill. It felt exhilarating to Hajime, much better than he anticipated. The small smile on his face soon got wider and soon, he was letting out his own cheers himself. By the time they went down the second hill, Hajime's arms were up in the air as well.

Once they rolled back into the station, Nagito pat Hajime on the shoulder and smiled to him, "see? Wasn't it fun?"

"Yeah... yeah!" Hajime giggled softly.

Nagito gave Hajime a small kiss on the cheek, "you ultimates can overcome anything, no matter how big or small!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Hajime chuckled as they got out of the coaster car.

Once they got off though, they were told by Monokuma to head back to the funhouse. Everyone seemed to be a little confused, but complied. They knew that something was off, but didn't want to get on Monokuma's bad side. They were told to get on a weird train looking thing, so Nagito and Hajime took the back, holding each other's hands tightly. None of them knew what to expect, so everyone was a little apprehensive. Except Nagito of course, who just held Hajime's hand to make him feel better and to comfort him.

Though as the train started moving, everything seemed to get fuzzier and fuzzier.

"Huh..?" Hajime found himself blinking, trying to keep his eyes open. He looked over to Nagito, who was already out against him. Hajime grunted softly, before he finally let sleep take over him.

When they woke up, they were in a completely different area. Hajime groaned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes gently. He looked around, most people were already awake. Hajime looked around until his eyes fell onto Nagito, who was still out on the floor. He crawled over, gently shaking Nagito to wake him up. 

"Hm...?" Nagito opened his eyes, then looked up to Hajime, "oh, hi Hajime..." he smiled softly.

"Hey..." Hajime said softly, sitting Nagito up.

"So, where are we?" Nagito asked, getting up and looking around.

"I'm not the person to ask," Hajime chuckled softly, "might not be a bad idea to look around though."

That's when Monokuma appeared, declaring that this funhouse was the new motive. They were officially locked in until a murder happened without food or water. That was surprising to everyone. Was Monokuma really going to let them starve in there? When he disappeared, everyone looked around at each other, before Hajime grabbed Nagito's hand.

"We need to find a way out..." Hajime said, before starting to look around the funhouse.

Nagito just nodded and followed along. The two needed to gather s much as they could about the funhouse as possible so they could get out as soon as possible. Especially since they didn't have any food or water. The two wandered around strawberry house, taking in any little detail they could find. After they had finished with strawberry house, they moved onto grape house.

"This is crazy..." Hajime mumbled to himself, "thinking he can just throw us in here with nothing, who does he think he is...? I swear I'm gonna...!" He grumbled, squeezing Nagito's hand as he went on and on.

Nagito stopped walking for a moment, making Hajime stop as well. He looked back to Nagito, the frustration was clear in his eyes. The white haired boy offered a soft smile, "how about we take a break Hajime?"

"Ah- a break at a time like this?" Hajime let go of Nagito's hand and threw his arms up in the air, "do you know what's at stake?"

"Yes, I'm very aware..." Nagito reached to Hajime's hands again and held them, "but you seem very stressed right now, why don't we take a breather? The lounge is nearby, right?"

"Yeah, yeah... but do we have time to rest?" Hajime asked, taking a few breaths.

"Of course we do! Look, there's even Chiaki and Sonia in the lounge now!" Nagito took Hajime's hand and started making his way over to the lounge.

Hajime sighed softly, "yeah, I guess we can rest for a bit," he said, letting Nagito bring him to the lounge.

Once the two got over to the lounge area in grape house, Nagito waved to Sonia and Chiaki, then stole the two other seats across from them.

"What brings you two here?" Sonia asked, smiling softly over to the two.

"Hajime here just needs a little break," Nagito kissed Hajime's cheek softly, "he just needs so unwind for a bit..."

"Oh, same with Chiaki and I!" Sonia said, "although, neither of us seem to be Hajime level of stressed," she chuckled softly.

Nagito chuckled as well, gently rubbing Hajime's arm, "yeah, Hajime could use a break..."

"But we need to get out of here!" Hajime said, pulling his arm away.

"It's ok Hajime, we've only been in here for a few hours looking around, we'll be fine," Nagito held his hands up.

Hajime just sighed, looking away.

Nagito then stood up, offering his hand to him, "come with me for a moment.."

Hajime looked up to Nagito, then to his hand, before gently taking it. The brunet stood and Nagito smiled, before turning and walking away from the lounge. They went upstairs, looking for somewhere quiet and private. Finding somewhere quiet normally helped Nagito calm down, so maybe it'd help Hajime too.

Once Nagito felt satisfied with the spot they were in, he stopped and looked to Hajime, before gently hugging him, "I'm here for you Hajime..."

Hajime hugged Nagito back, sighing and resting his cheek on Nagito's shoulder, "I'm sorry... I just- this is insane... I want everyone to get out safely..."

"You don't have to be sorry Hajime..." Nagito kissed Hajime softly, "how about we finish looking around, then we rest? We can start looking for ways out after we've gotten some sleep..."

Hajime sighed softly, "as much as I don't want to, that might be a better idea..."

"Then it's decided, what spots haven't we explored yet?" Nagito asked, smiling softly.

"I think just up here...." Hajime looked around.

"Alright, then let's go!" Nagito smiled, taking Hajime's hand.

Hajime looked around the third floor of grape house. There didn't seem to be much other than the Monokuma Archives up there, so that's where the two went. The amount of Monokuma things in the archive were enough to make Hajime sick, how could a robot stuffed animal be so full of himself? Hajime held Nagito's hand close, gently kissing his hand to distract himself from his frustrated feelings. Nagito noticed the near death grip on his hand, and offered small kisses on Hajime's shoulder and cheek. Hajime sighed and stopped walking, holding Nagito close.

"Maybe if we sweet talk everyone we can have a room together..." Nagito smiled softly, "if I remember correctly, the deluxe rooms are soundproof right?" 

"You're gross..." Hajime chuckled, looking away.

"Ah- sorry Hajime!" Nagito stood up straight, "I know I'm gross, but to hear that from you... it's truly embarrassing!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding..." Hajime held Nagito close.

Nagito giggled a little, "are you sure you're kidding? I mean, I was pretty gross there..."

"Yeah I'm sure, I mean you were kidding too right?" Hajime asked.

"Of course!" Nagito giggled softly, "now, are we finished up in here?"

"Yeah, I think so..." Hajime looked around, "at least, I don't wanna see a ton of Monokumas if I don't have to..."

"Ok, then let's go see if we can up with everyone else!" Nagito smiled, bringing Hajime out of the Monokuma Archive. He agreed, he didn't want to see anymore of that wretched thing either. 

It seemed that everyone was back in the strawberry house lounge, and like usual, Nagito and Hajime were the last two there. 

"Ah, there you two are! Is Hajime doing better?" Sonia asked when she saw them.

"Yeah, I'm doing better, thank you..." Hajime said softly, "so I guess we should discuss where we're sleeping, huh?"

Everyone gathered around in the lounge and started to discuss. They bounced ideas back and forth until they came to the conclusion that the boys would sleep in strawberry house, while Hajime and the girls would sleep in grape house. Though Nagito was able to convince the others to let Hajime sleep in his room for one night.

"How do we know he's not going to try and kill Hajime?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Oh, you know me Fuyuhiko! I could never kill someone as amazing as Hajime..." Nagito said, pretty much clinging to Hajime's arm, "you make me sound like some cold hearted killer, and that's not me!"

"Trust me, he's too clingy to murder me," Hajime chuckled softly.

"Well then I guess we should get some sleep!" Sonia smiled softly, "I look forward to seeing you all in the morning!"

Everyone nodded and headed off to their rooms for what they assumed was the night. They had no windows, so they were relying on Monokuma's announcements. Nagito opened the door to the deluxe room for Hajime and smiled, hurrying in behind him.

"I'd say I'm quite lucky Hajime, don't you think?" Nagito asked, sitting on the bed.

"Well at least you live up to your talent," Hajime chuckled, slipping his shoes off.

"Well, not all the time," Nagito said, “knowing my luck cycle and all, I might’ve just caused the next murder.”

“I don’t think it’ll be that bad...” Hajime laid back on the bed with Nagito.

“Oh you have no idea Hajime,” Nagito chuckled, taking his jacket off.

“Well you shouldn’t be held responsible unless you actually had a hand in it,” Hajime said, laying back with Nagito.

“I don’t plan on having a hand in it,” Nagito chuckled softly, “though at the same time, it would get everyone out right? Then that’d bring hope to everyone and overpower the despair of the death! Hajime, do you want to kill me?”

Hajime stared at Hajime for a moment, he couldn’t get used to how Nagito could just say that with a smile, “o-of course not...”

“What? Why not?” Now Nagito looked disappointed. Hajime would never understand his lover.

“Because I love you...” Hajime took Nagito’s hands, “I wanna get out of here with you, why would I kill you if I want to find hope with you?” 

“You really think I can find hope with you...? But I’m merely a stepping stone for hope...” Nagito’s eyes widened.

“Nagito, when we’re together you give me just a little more hope to get through this...” Hajime squeezed Nagito’s hands, “so no, I’d never want to kill you...”

Nagito looked to Hajime quietly for a moment, before crawling over to him and hugging him. Hajime smiled softly and hugged back, rubbing his back gently, “we’re gonna get out of here together ok? So how about we get some rest and we’ll get to work tomorrow?”

Nagito smiled softly, nuzzling Hajime’s cheek, “that sounds amazing Hajime... let’s do that..”

Hajime nodded and laid down in the bed with Nagito, pulling the blankets over the two, “you sleep well ok?” He said, kissing him and turning the lights out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went almost purely off of memory for all the canon in game things, so I apologize if anything is inaccurate jdjdjdjdjdjd


	13. Chapter 13

The two boys woke up to the Monokuma announcement all tangled up together. They both sat up and stretched, letting anything that needed to crack do it's thing. Then the two got out of the bed, going to grab the clothes they had taken off to sleep in and getting them back on.

"I think that was the best sleep we've had yet," Hajime chuckled softly.

"It sucks that the others won't let us sleep together in here anymore though..." Nagito crossed his arms.

"Well I'm sure we won't be here long, so you won't have to worry," Hajime wrapped his arm around Nagito's waist, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

Nagito giggled softly, "that's a little more optimistic coming from you."

"Well I believe we can get out of here quickly," Hajime smiled, "anyways we should get going, apparently Monokuma's gonna be mad if we're late..."

"Ugh, do we have to?" Nagito whined, opening the door to the room.

"I don't want to either, but we know what Monokuma can do..." Hajime sighed, taking Nagito's hand and hurrying down to grape tower.

Turns out Monokuma wanted to do what he called 'Monokuma tai-chi'. Hajime was already having none of it, he had to look for a way out and he was so hungry. He hadn't realized it until now, but missing dinner and this morning's breakfast already had him pretty hungry and drained. It seemed to be the same for everyone else as he looked around the room. Everyone looked so tired and out of it, just going through the motions of whatever Monokuma was doing. Once they finished, Nagito and Hajime reunited and went on their way. They were both determined and ready to find a way out.

"Monokuma is insane... I don't get him!" Hajime said as the two of them walked throughout the funhouse once more.

"Well, we assume he's a robot right?" Nagito asked, "maybe that's just his robot conscience or something, maybe he doesn't understand human emotions and comes off as insane."

"Yeah, but there's also the traitor..." Hajime said, "are they just as insane as Monokuma?"

"Well, we'll have to find that out for ourselves, right?" Nagito gave Hajime's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Hajime looked to Nagito and smiled softly, "yeah, we're gonna kick their ass!"

Nagito giggled softly, now being filled with a different kind of determination. This determination was laced with hope, making the two boys pumped. Maybe Nagito didn't always have to cause despair to find hope, because he had his hope right beside him in Hajime. 

Though despite their efforts, nothing came up. The night time announcement felt like it came quicker than normal and that'd mean that Hajime would be sleeping in grape house that night. Before Hajime left, Nagito hugged him tightly. Hajime hugged back, rubbing Nagito's back softly.

"I'll see you in the morning, ok...?" Hajime said softly.

"I'm gonna have a tough time sleeping without you..." Nagito said. It'd be the first time the two of them slept apart in a while, so it'd be different.

"Me too... but remember, we'll be out of here soon," Hajime assured.

Nagito looked up to Hajime and smiled, before kissing his cheek gently, "goodnight Hajime... I'll see you tomorrow..."

"Goodnight..." Hajime smiled, kissing Nagito back.

Then the two parted ways for the night. Nagito returned to the large deluxe room and sighed softly, the bed was going to feel much bigger. He started to get himself undressed, then crawled into his bed. Nagito pulled the blankets over himself, before grabbing a spare pillow. Sure, it wouldn't live up to Hajime's cuddles, but it'd have to do. He rolled over and curled up, quietly drifting off to sleep.

In the morning, Nagito was almost immediately out of his bed and out the door, he was ready to see Hajime. But first came Monokuma tai chi. With a small huff, Nagito started to make his way down towards the elevator, only to be stopped by Fuyuhiko, Kazuichi and Gundham.

"What are you doing? Also where have you been?!" Fuyuhiko came storming over towards Nagito.

"Oh, I just woke up," Nagito said, his eyes wandering around the room in confusion, "I was just about to head over to grape house, why?"

"Do you have eyes? Someone busted the elevator!" Fuyuhiko pointed over to the broken panel on the wall.

"Oh I didn't notice, how foolish of me," Nagito chuckled softly.

"Yeah, and did you not notice the alarm either??" Fuyuhiko's face started to go red. Sure, Nagito's seen him mad, but he was unsure if he'd ever seen Fuyuhiko this mad.

"What alarm?" Nagito tilted his head in confusion.

"I'll take that as a no..." Fuyuhiko sighed.

"Then what about strawberry to-"

"Don't even think about it," Fuyuhiko was quick to cut Nagito off, "that's busted too, we're gonna have to wait and see if Kazuichi can at least fix the elevator."

"Ah, well that's too bad..." Nagito crossed his arms, "I was looking forward to seeing Hajime..."

"Well you're gonna have to wait," Fuyuhiko said, "I'm going to sit in the lounge for a bit, I wanna save my energy..."

Fuyuhiko turned to head back towards the lounge, until he was stopped by the all too familiar chime from the body discovery announcement. Everyone froze listening as Monokuma announced that they were to start investigating now. The four boys looked at each other, before Kazuichi started to speed up, wanting to get over to grape house as fast as possible. Gundham, Fuyuhiko and Nagito looked at each other, wondering what to do.

Then Fuyuhiko ran up towards the lounge, "let's see if we can call the others-" he said, quickly grabbing the phone and seeing if someone would pick up.

On the other end was Hajime, "did you hear the announcement?"

"Yeah, I'm assuming it was over in grape house?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Yeah, it was Nekomaru..." Hajime said solemnly, sighing softly.

"Oh no..." Fuyuhiko said softly, "the elevator is busted, Kazuichi's working on it right now... we'll be over there as soon as we can..."

Then they hung up. Fuyuhiko looked to the two other boys and told them what was going on and how it was Nekomaru who died. The others nodded sadly, but they had to get to work.

"I'll go see if I can find anything around here!" Nagito smiled and turned around to go back downstairs, he knew where he was going.

Nagito had his eyes on the final dead room ever since everyone got there and he really wanted to check it out. He didn't know if he'd look suspicious going in, so he looked around quickly and hurried inside. But not before Monomi managed to get in behind him. 

Nagito looked back to the door when he heard it click, "oh, well I guess we can't get out..." then he looked to the room in front of him, "unless we solve this."

"Oh no! Are you sure you'll be ok Nagito?" Monomi asked.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," Nagito smiled softly, "even so, I bet it'd be fine if I died in here."

Without another word, Nagito had already started examining the room. He was quiet as he investigated, barely even acknowledging Monomi as he worked on solving the mystery. Nagito hoped he wasn't coming off as rude to Monomi, but he was focused. 

"Nagito...?" He was snapped out of focus for a moment and looked back to Monomi.

"Yeah?" Nagito stood up for a moment.

Monomi pointed over to a table which Nagito hadn't noticed at first, which had a gun on it. He walked over to the table and picked the gun up, "hm..."

"Are you supposed to play Russian roulette?" Monomi asked.

"Russian roulette, huh?" Nagito said softly, "I think I'm familiar, you load the gun and spin the barrel and point it to your head correct? And the goal is to end up with empty chamber, right?"

"Yes, but are you really going to do this Nagito?" Monomi rubbed her paws together nervously.

"Why, of course! You wanna get out of here, right?" Nagito smiled, "but, is a 1/6 chance of dying really lucky?" He asked. 

As Nagito loaded the gun, Monomi held her arms up, "wait wait Nagito! This isn't smart!"

"Well I am the ultimate lucky student, right? Then let's test the limits of that!" Nagito laughed, only taking out 1 bullet from the chamber.

"Nagito...!" Monomi tried to protest, but Nagito was already spinning the barrel.

Nagito ignored Monomi's pleas, raising the gun to his head. He was prepared for either outcome, but he trusted his luck. Monomi closed her eyes and covered them, scared about what would happen. But all she heard was a small *click*.

Soon after came another click from in front of the two. Nagito put the gun down and his usual happy go lucky smile returned, "ah, that's the door, right?"

"Ah... N-Nagito..." Monomi was a little shaky as she followed the boy as he treaded forward.

Nagito opened the door that unlocked, "so... this is the secret of the final dead room huh?"

Then Monokuma appeared, earning a scowl from Nagito, "so, you got through the final dead room by only taking one bullet out huh? Well, now you get a very special prize!"

Monokuma handed Nagito a large book with Hope's Peak's crest on it, "what's this?" He asked.

"You find out for yourself!" Monokuma laughed before disappearing.

Nagito sat down against the wall, then started to flip through the book. His eyes widened, these were student records! Nagito started to flip through the pages faster, maybe he'd be able to find out what Hajime's ultimate was. A smile appeared on his face, he was excited. But then suddenly he froze. He got to Hajime's page and slowly read over the words under the talent subsection.

"Reserve... course...?" Nagito spoke barely above a whisper.

He couldn't believe it. He read over it again and again, hoping maybe something would change. But it didn't. Something was off, that wasn't right. How could someone without a talent possess the amount of hope Nagito could feel within Hajime? Nagito knew for a fact he loved Hajime. What was different about Hajime compared to every other talentless person? Nagito closed the book, was talent really all he cut it out to be? No, that couldn't be right, talented people were above all else. But again, Nagito knew for a fact that he was in love with Hajime. But he couldn't be a hypocrite and make an exception for Hajime. Nagito was so torn, he didn't know what to do. He sighed, just picking himself off the ground and going to look around the area.

Meanwhile, Hajime was busy investigating with Chiaki. They had gotten pretty far and Hajime was starting to get an idea of how the case played out. Though he hoped that the other boys would get over to grape house soon, but that's when it happened.

Nagito literally popped out of nowhere.

"N-Nagito...? How did you-" Hajime blinked, trying to figure out what just happened.

Though Nagito was quiet, just staring down Hajime. That seemed to leave the brunet a little unnerved, "Nagito, is everything ok...?" He asked, approaching Nagito.

Nagito was quiet for a moment, before opening his mouth, "why should I care about what you have to say, reserve course?"

"What? What are you talking about?" Hajime tilted his head.

"You're talentless Hajime!" Nagito giggled softly, "you're in the reserve course, a class for the talentless at Hope's Peak."

"Talentless...?" Hajime blinked. Chiaki saw the anger bubbling up in Hajime and decided to back off.

"Yes, of course! You have no meaning Hajime!" Nagito covered his mouth as he laughed.

"Wh- are you laughing at me?!" Hajime got defensive.

"What are you going to do?" Nagito crossed his arms.

"Nagito, where did this come from?" Hajime crossed his arms as well, "I thought you loved me, huh?!"

"It was a lie!" Nagito clenched his fists, "you think I'd love someone untalented like you?!"

Hajime was a little taken aback, that hurt, "ah- what does talent have to do with any of this?!"

"Those without talent have no purpose and cannot harbour hope within them," Nagito said almost in a sweet tone, "I don't know how I saw any hope in you in the first place, Hajime."

Hajime grunted. Of course, of course it had to come back around to hope, "do you honestly think you'll find love at all if all you care about is hope?"

Nagito was about to deliver a rebuttal, but was taken aback by that statement. He just stared back to Hajime, watching as he continued.

"You've told me that all you want in life was to be loved, I give you the love you want and it even seemed like you loved me too!" Hajime blinked away tears. He didn't want to weaken any of his words by his tears, "but... but I guess I was right all along, I can't trust you Nagito, no matter how hard I try."

Again, Nagito was drawing a blank. He just looked to Hajime, "Well I'm glad I won't be needing to spend anymore time with you," he said, before walking away.

Though, he was stopped by the announcement that the class trial was about to begin. That just made Nagito walk faster, he wanted to get away from Hajime as fast as possible. He couldn't hurt him anymore. 

The whole trial was stressful, but there was still a strong tension between Hajime and Nagito. The whole time Nagito was just throwing insults at Hajime and it even seemed at times he was trying to derail the entire trial. Hajime just tried to ignore it though. Maybe he'd get a chance to talk to him after the trial, but he doubted it. Hajime didn't even know if they could face each other again, especially after Nagito's sudden 180 on him. Hajime could barely focus during the trial and even after it was over, it felt like his brain was scattered. He watched as Nagito sped off back towards the hotel now that they were free to go. Something told Hajime to follow Nagito, but he went against it. They were over now, they didn't need to see each other now.

Nagito arrived back to his cottage and slammed the door, hoping no one would hear him. He was mad at himself, what the fuck was he doing? He grabbed a pillow and threw it on the floor hoping it'd relieve some of his frustration. Nagito let his his ideals take over and now he'd lost one of the greatest things that's ever happened to him. He knew it was a defence mechanism, but it was a pretty shitty defence mechanism. Maybe it was for the better though, it was only a matter of time before Nagito's luck would've started affecting Hajime. Nagito sat on his bed and curled up, grabbing a pillow and pulling it close.

“I’m sorry Hajime... I’m so sorry...” he whispered, before drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahahahaha I’m so sorry I can’t go too long without making them suffer-


	14. Chapter 14

It seemed Nagito had skipped breakfast that morning, since he wasn't there when Hajime got there. He must've already headed to the 5th island already that Monomi had opened up. It was strange to sit with the others without Nagito and no one dared asked what happened. They could all see it on Hajime's face. He'd barely processed anything they said to each other himself, so he wouldn't be able to say a thing if asked. So it was quiet as they ate, barely a word exchanged the whole time. 

Once they were all done, Hajime got up and immediately made his way towards the 5th island. He almost hoped that he'd be able to catch Nagito on his way there, he knew that they needed to talk. Though when he got to the island, Nagito was no where to be found. Though Hajime was just at the beginning of the island, so maybe he'd catch Nagito later. For now he just had to focus on the island and see if he could find any clues surrounding the island.

Though Nagito had other plans. He was already devising a plan to weed out the traitor. Nagito had already scouted the island earlier that morning, so that left the rest of the rest of the day to come up with a plan. He knew what he was going to do, giving himself up in the name of hope was only a given! He had everything he needed, it was going to be great. All he needed was time and then everyone would be free. 

After Hajime had finished exploring the 5th island, he went and found Fuyuhiko.

"Have you seen Nagito?" Hajime asked.

"No, not at all..." Fuyuhiko shook his head, "is he in his cottage?"

"Maybe... I'm done looking here, I'm gonna go check on him," Hajime said.

"Are you sure Hajime?" Chiaki asked, "a lot happened yesterday, are you ready to talk?"

"Yeah, something was off, I need to talk to him," Hajime nodded, "or, at least I'm gonna try..."

Then Hajime turned, not giving anyone a chance to protest and was off. He hurried back over towards the 1st island, Hajime hoped that Nagito would be at his cottage. Please, he bit his lip as he was almost running at this point, please let Nagito be there. He just needed to talk things out and everything would be ok.

He hurried up to Nagito's cottage, quickly knocking on the door. Hajime stood impatiently, debating on whether or not he should knock again barely after he stopped knocking. Hajime pressed his ear to the door, hoping he'd be able to hear anything from the other side. He sighed, before knocking again.

"Nagito? Are you in there? Please, I just want to talk!" Hajime called, hoping he'd get an answer.

He waited for a few seconds, but nothing. He knocked again, desperate for an answer. Hajime waited, again he got nothing. Then he looked to the doorknob. Should he try to break in? Was that really a smart idea? Probably not, but Hajime just wanted some closure. He placed his hand on the doorknob, before turning it. The door was open, it felt strange to Hajime. Why would Nagito just leave his door open like that? He entered Nagito's cottage and looked around, before spotting something in the bathroom. Hajime went over the bathroom and opened the door, before a gasp escaped him.

"Nagito?!" Hajime exclaimed as he took in the scene around him. Nagito was passed out on the bathroom floor, but at the time Hajime couldn't pinpoint exactly how it happened. He was in a panic, hurrying and picking Nagito up.

Hajime could still hear Nagito breathing, so that was a good sign. He brought Nagito to the restaurant, hoping someone would be there. Thankfully, it seemed that everyone was waiting for dinner. When Hajime walked in with Nagito, everyone immediately stood up.

"What happened?!" Akane asked, beckoning Hajime over and putting Nagito on the table.

"I-I don't know, I just found him like that in his cottage!" Hajime said, examining Nagito's body for any injuries. It didn't seem like there was any bleeding, but it looked like he only hit his head as he fell.

"Oh, I have an idea!" Akane hurried out of the room for a moment. 

When she returned, Akane had a bowl of water in her hands. She hurried back to Nagito's side, then dumped the bowl on his face. The others didn't expect it to work, but they were soon proved wrong as Nagito jolted up, coughing and spitting out some water.

Hajime and Kazuichi immediately helped Nagito lay back down, "careful, we don't know if you're concussed or not..." Hajime said.

"What the heck...? Mm... I'm fine..." Nagito groaned as he held his head.

"Judging by your reaction, probably not," Fuyuhiko crossed his arms.

"Let me go... and why are you letting the reserve course student handle me?" Nagito snatched his arm away from Hajime.

"I- Nagito does this even matter right now? You're hurt!" Hajime was taken aback. Was he still going on about this? How did Nagito go from practically clinging to Hajime to actively avoiding him? It made absolutely no sense to him.

"How does my health matter now?" Nagito groaned, sitting up again, "just leave me alone, I have much more important things to do..."

"I- Nagito???" Hajime was getting fed up. Chiaki held a hand up to Hajime, before she went to catch up with Nagito.

Once Chiaki left to find Nagito, Hajime groaned, "what has gotten into him?"

"I was about to ask the same thing..." Fuyuhiko said, "do you have any idea at all?"

"Well... apparently I'm a reserve course student..." Hajime bit his lip, "and now apparently I'm just not worthy enough to him... all because I don't have a talent..."

Sonia wrapped an arm around Hajime, smiling softly, "Well, you don't have to worry Hajime, you're all worthy to us, talent or not!"

Hajime smiled a little, "thanks guys..."

Then the door to the restaurant opened again, and in came Chiaki with Nagito. The white haired boy averted his eyes from everyone else, while Chiaki walked him inside and to the others.

"I got him, he said he'll let me look at his head at least," Chiaki said, sitting Nagito down at one of the tables, "could you come help me Hajime?"

"I don't want him touching me," Nagito glared at Hajime.

"He won't, he's just the one that found you, so I'm just gonna ask him questions," Chiaki said softly, getting out the medical supplies she brought with her just in case. Then she looked up to Hajime, "how did you find him?"

"He was on his back," Hajime sat down, "and he was kinda sprawled out like this," he said, leaning against the table and opening his arms and legs.

Chiaki nodded, "turn the back of your head towards me, Nagito..."

Nagito did as he was told and let Chiaki search for any kind of bump on the back of his head. While she was doing that, Nagito was forced to look at Hajime. Well, not 'forced' but he couldn't look away. The two stared at each other the entire time, though instead of Nagito's newly established glare, his face seemed to soften a little. He felt guilty for the things he was saying to Hajime, but in his mind that's just how it had to be. Hajime wouldn't be hurt by Nagito's luck, nor would Nagito come off as a hypocrite. They both continued to stare, until Chiaki ran her hand over a bump.

"Ow!" Nagito winced, biting his lip a little.

"Ah, sorry..." Chiaki said, "but I found where you hit your head, I think..."

"Is it bleeding at all?" Nagito asked.

"Not from what I can feel..." Chiaki said.

Then Nagito stood up, "then obviously I'm fine, why would you waste your time on someone like me? Anyways, I have other things to attend to."

"No," Chiaki grabbed Nagito's arm and pulled him back down, "we still need to check for signs of a concussion, just in case."

"You can check by seeing if his pupils are dilated, right?" Akane asked.

Chiaki nodded and stood up, taking a little light out of her medical things she gathered. Then she got in front of Nagito and tilted his head up, before shining the light in his eyes. That didn't last long though, as Nagito immediately squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head and wincing.

"Hm..." Chaiki crossed her arms, "Nagito is everything ok?"

"It hurts," Nagito said, looking back to Chiaki. 

"Well I think you got your answer," Fuyuhiko said, "that fall obviously did something to him."

Chiaki nodded, "Nagito, whatever you have planned right now you'll have to put it on hold, you're hurt."

"I insist, I'm fine... a bright light would bother you too if it was shined in your face," Nagito grumbled, "I'll rest if you really want me to, but why would you? I shouldn't matter to you guys anyway."

"We just want to get out of here Nagito, we don't want to have to lose anyone else!" Hajime stood.

"Did I ask for your input Hajime?" Nagito laughed at Hajime, "I don't need any pointless words from a reserve course student."

"Just- I don't want you to get anymore hurt than you already are!" Hajime grit his teeth, trying to get through to Nagito.

"Since when do you care about me?" Nagito crossed his arms.

"Ah- well unlike you I actually loved you!" Hajime threw his arms in the air.

Chiaki then grabbed Nagito's arm, "let's just go get some rest," she said, bringing Nagito back to his cottage.

Hajime balled his hands up into fists as soon as Nagito left. He felt like he was going to throw something, he was just so frustrated with Nagito. Was everything they had together really all a lie? It felt hard to believe, but the way Nagito was acting was completely different than how he did when they were together. Was he just mad that they broke up? But he was the one that broke off the relationship! This made no sense and Hajime had to blow off some steam.

"I'm going back to my cottage..." Hajime grumbled, before storming off.

Hajime slammed his door and tossed his shoes off. He sat on the couch in his room, holding his face in his hands, "I can't understand you Nagito... no matter how hard I try... I-I thought I was getting somewhere, but I guess not..." Hajime chuckled pitifully, "I wanted to help... you said you just wanted to be loved, right? Then what did I do wrong, huh...?"

Hajime sniffled a little. No, he didn't need to cry now. The brunet rubbed his eyes and sat up, staring up at the ceiling. He breathed deeply, he just wanted everything to be ok. He wanted to get off this island now, he was done with everything here. Sure, they had some leads, but nothing that could get them off the island. Hajime just got up and laid in bed, hoping some rest would help.

After Hajime had dozed off for a bit, he woke up to a knock on his door. He sat up and quickly hurried to the door to answer it, "oh, hey Chiaki..."

"Hey, do you think you could come back to the restaurant for a minute? The others wanna talk," Chiaki said softly.

"Oh, ok..." Hajime nodded, "is he there?"

"No, Nagito's in his room resting," Chiaki said, before beckoning Hajime out.

Hajime nodded and put his shoes on, before following Chiaki back to the restaurant. Once they got there, Hajime saw that everyone else was there.

"We need to apprehend him before he gets out of control, I mean plans? He's going to do something if we're not careful!" Fuyuhiko said.

"Well how exactly are we gonna do that? Should we just tie him up like we did before?" Kazuichi asked. 

"We could, but we need to get him out of his cottage first," Hajime said.

"What about the lobby tomorrow? He normally comes into the restaurant from there so if we get up early we could catch him off guard!" Akane said.

"That might not be a bad idea," Hajime nodded, sitting down at one of the tables.

"So it's decided! Bright and early people!" Akane smiled triumphantly.

"Not quite yet," Chiaki held her hand up, "how exactly are we going to do this?"

“I’ll grab him!” Akane said, raising her hand.

Hajime nodded, “just be careful of his head, if he hits it again there’s no telling whether or not his condition will worsen and if he somehow dies then Monokuma will find a way to call it a murder,” he then crossed his arms and looked to Chiaki and Kazuichi, “do you think you two could be waiting there for him? Just so it doesn’t look too suspicious.”

Both Chiaki and Kazuichi nodded, agreeing with Hajime. Then Fuyuhiko spoke up, “and the rest of us?”

“We’ll be on standby, Akane might need help once she’s got a hold of Nagito,” Hajime said.

“Well, is that it then?” Kazuichi asked.

“I believe so,” Chiaki nodded, “we should go rest now so we’re ready.”

“Yeah! I’ll see you guys tomorrow, bright and early!” Akane said, before heading off to her cottage for the night.

Everyone else all said their goodbyes, before all heading to their own cottages. Hajime sighed once he settled into bed.

“Please let this go well... please...” was the last thing he got out before letting sleep take over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho ho, we’re approaching the climax of the story (:<


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a warning that I will be going into detail about Nagito’s death, so just be careful as you read!

As soon as Hajime woke, he immediately felt ready. Today they were going to apprehend Nagito and at least put his trouble making to the end. He had made his way towards the hotel lobby before the morning announcement and met up with everyone else. Then they all got in position, waiting patiently for Nagito.

Shortly after the morning announcement sounded, everyone heard the door open to the hotel. Nagito entered, then Akane sprang into action, grabbing Nagito and holding him down. Though he didn't give much of a struggle, only a slight grunt coming from him.

"What are you doing...?" Nagito grumbled.

"Ugh- don't take it personally, but we have to tie you up!" Fuyuhiko said, going to help Akane.

"Tie me up? What for?" Nagito chuckled softly.

Hajime went to help as well. It was strange, Nagito was being strangely cooperative, even though he was completely resisting help the day before.

"You just- we can't have you running around!" Fuyuhiko said frustratedly.

"Aww, well that'd be no fun, you guys are so serious yknow? I'm trying to help," Nagito said, smiling blankly.

"With what? What have you done so far but nearly sabotage every trial so far?" Hajime squeezed Nagito's wrist. He couldn't believe he was hearing what the white haired boy was saying.

"You clearly don't see, do you Hajime? Well that's typical for a reserve course student like yourself," Nagito scoffed, "I'm helping the only way I know how, and that'll start with the end of Jabberwock island!"

Then without warning, an explosion rang throughout the lobby, knocking everyone to the ground. Hajime briefly lost consciousness, but when he woke, Nagito was the only one standing in the remains of the hotel lobby. Maniacal laughter was heard from him, it had been a while since Hajime had heard that. Though it was clear that whoever the brunet knew before, was gone. 

"Now, wasn't that amazing?" Nagito's face twisted into a crooked smile, "those fireworks put on an amazing show, but just you wait until you hear about the real bombs!"

"The... real bombs...?" Hajime sat up a little.

"That's right Hajime, I've hidden a large number of bombs in a certain area and they're set to go off in two days at noon!" Nagito clasped his hands together, "it's enough to completely wipe out the island, maybe even us included! But, if the traitor is willing to come forward, then I'll stop them!" 

Nagito looked around the room for a moment and so did Hajime. But when no one said anything, Nagito just chuckled, "well, good luck everyone! I know you can all overcome this despair!"

Then he simply walked away. How could he? He just announced that he would destroy the island and take everyone with him! It was hardly fair, everyone had to recover quick so they could get to the bottom of this, they weren't about to lose to Nagito.

But Nagito had other plans. Now that he had completed the first step of his plan, everything should hopefully move smoothly. Just as long as everyone left it to the last second, then everything would go to plan.

That day everyone just stayed in their cottages. They had to rest up for the day, so they'd be prepared to search the island up and down the following day. Hajime sighed, why didn't he expect Nagito to pull something like that? He thought he knew Nagito, but apparently not.

Before resting for the day, Hajime got in the shower. Sure, he wasn't a big fan of showering, but he was absolutely filthy from debris. He ran his hands through his hair as the water splashed on top of his head. Jeez, even when his hair was wet that damn piece of hair wouldn't stay down. Hajime just sighed and washed his hair, maybe tomorrow would be better. No, he hoped tomorrow would be better. Whatever Nagito was trying to pull was absolutely wasting their time, but was he serious about the bombs? He blew up the lobby, so what would stop him from blowing up the entire island? Hajime didn't know what to think. He go out of the shower and dried off, before just tossing his clothes on and getting in bed. He curled up under the blankets, holding a pillow close and getting some sleep.

Everyone was up bright and early the day after, with Nagito nowhere to be found. But right now they didn't have time to worry about whatever he was up to. They all split up, searching everywhere around the islands. They went in pairs, just in case Nagito was planning anything malicious. But by the time they were done, they came up with nothing. They arrived at the restaurant at nightfall with the intention of staring what they found, but again had nothing.

"Did anyone see Nagito at all?" Hajime asked as he got his food.

Hajime looked to the others, only earning either a "no" or head shakes. He sighed and went to sit down, "what is going on...?"

"I'm sure we'll figure everything out," Chiaki said, "once we get the Nagito situation dealt with then we can get back to looking for a way out."

"Yeah, but he's gonna blow up the island tomorrow!" Hajime balled his hands up.

"We'll have time tomorrow morning, don't worry..." Chiaki rubbed Hajime's back.

"We'll be cutting it pretty short..." Hajime sighed softly.

"But it's not impossible, right?" Chiaki asked.

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Hajime said softly, eating his food.

"We'll be fine Hajime," Chiaki said softly, before returning to her own food.

Hajime just nodded, "yeah, ok..."

After Hajime finished his food, he stood and looked to everyone, "we're gonna be fine..."

"Bright and early!" Akane said.

"Yeah, see you guys tomorrow..." Hajime waved, before leaving the restaurant and heading towards his cottage.

He stopped in front of Nagito's cottage, sighing softly. Was he really debating on trying to talk to him now? He was too far gone, Hajime was sure he wouldn't get through to him. But he still wanted that closure, though he was sure he wasn't gonna get it. Hajime shook his head, just going back to his cottage. 

Hajime was exhausted from that day. Just one more day, he thought, then it'll be over. He didn't even bother changing, just flopping down onto the bed. He was so tired, he just wanted sleep. Hajime closed his eyes and rolled over, hoping his dreams would be sweet.

The next morning there was no time for breakfast, everyone had to get to work. Everyone stuck together, looking everywhere they could. Hajime even thought he saw Nagito, but he couldn't tell for sure.

Nagito was busy himself, today he was going to execute his plan. It wouldn't just be a way for hope to shine through, but a way for him to atone for all of his actions. He knew he had done some pretty horrible things, so this was a way for Nagito to take accountability. He had made his way right to the 5th island while the others weren't there, so he could start getting ready. It was barely even 9 o'clock, so he had time to prepare for the main attraction.

He went to the plushie factory, setting up his computer. Then he went to the break room, putting the fire grenade back where he found it. Now he just hoped that someone would grab them, though with his luck he was sure someone would find them. 

Now he could set the scene. He went to the warehouse, he already had everything there, now he just had to set it all up. There was much to do, but he had 3 hours before he had to be ready, so Nagito got to work. He started by hanging up the curtain in the back of the warehouse, keeping it open for now. Then he gathered up all the Monokuma cut outs, starting to stack them together. He then put the lighter he had down on the ground, planning to turn it on later.

He returned to the back of the warehouse, looking at the supplies on the ground. Nagito smiled, "now.. let's get this show on the road..."

Nagito grabbed the rope, tying the far ends before sitting down and starting to tie himself up. He had spent a long time preparing this, so it couldn't fail. Next he got the tape out, putting some over his mouth so he'd be quiet. Before he went too far, he managed to get the spear hung over top of him, holding onto the cord tightly. Then he grabbed his knife, sitting up as far as he could. Though he hesitated a little. He felt a small pit grow in his stomach, but he pushed down his nerves, he had to do this. 

Nagito braced himself, before stabbing his thighs. He could've screamed from the pain, thank god the tape quieted him down. Nagito kept going until he felt he couldn't keep going anymore. He looked back to his arm that was holding the spear, before slashing his upper arm. His hand loosened a little at that, making Nagito a little nervous. He waited until his grip tightened again, then slashed his arm again for good measure. Nagito then laid back and put the knife in the Monokuma plushie beside him. He laid back and took a deep breath, before slamming his hand down onto it. With all that done, now he had to wait. He looked over to the side, when his eyes widened.

Of course, of course! Nagito never forgot anything, but of course he forgot to turn the lighter on. He cursed himself silently, everything was going so well, but now it could all fall apart. He was about to give up on his plan, when the door opened.

Nagito looked over and his eyes widened. Hajime? He watched as Hajime's eyes landed onto Nagito and he ran over.

"Nagito, Nagito!" Hajime hurried you his side and pulled the tape off his mouth.

"Hajime... what are you doing here?" Nagito spoke shakily.

"What happened?" Hajime looked at Nagito's body, going to untie him.

"Don't touch anything!" Nagito said, to which Hajime jolted back, "this has to happen..."

"What do you mean? I can help you!" Hajime said.

"This is going to help you guys, trust me..." Nagito looked away, "you just need to get going..."

"Why should I listen to you? You haven't been listening to me or even giving me the time of day!" Hajime crossed his arms.

"I guess I should apologize while I still have time..." Nagito chuckled softly, "when I found out you were a reserve course student, I was shocked to say the least... but I never stopped loving you Hajime... And all of that shit I said, I really didn't mean it, I promise... I'm so sorry Hajime... I couldn't admit that I was wrong about talent... but I promise you that I still love you..."

"I... then what are you doing...?" Hajime was a little taken aback. In fact, he was blinking away tears. If Nagito loved him so much then why wasn't he letting him help?

"It's my atonement for my sins..." Nagito said, "you should go now, before anyone gets suspicious."

"But Nagito we're not-"

"I don't want you to be suspicious Hajime, go," Nagito said firmly.

Hajime looked to Nagito for a moment. He knew he wouldn't be able to change Nagito's mind, but he didn't want to leave. But as he sat there in silence, Nagito continued to urge him to leave. Hajime eventually gave in, but before moving he kissed Nagito softly.

"I love you Nagito..." Hajime said shakily.

"I love you too..." Nagito smiled a little, "and before you go, turn on that lighter over there for me will you?"

"But it'll catch fire-"

"It'll help in the case, trust me..." Nagito said.

Hajime nodded slowly, standing up and moving to the lighter. He turned it on for Nagito, then put the tape back over his mouth. Hajime went to the door, looking back to Nagito, "I'm sorry..."

Nagito would've told Hajime not to be sorry, but he just looked to Hajime, trying to smile as best as he could.

But as soon as Hajime was gone, Nagito was filled with sadness. He wished he could've let Hajime help him, but in his mind this was the right thing to do. Nagito just looked up to the dangling spear over top of him, he was ready. He just wanted to get it over with, he didn't want to feel any of the guilt that was slowly bubbling up inside him. 

That was when the door opened, and this time it opened fully, letting the warehouse be set ablaze. The crackling noises of the fire travelling throughout the warehouse was music to Nagito's ears. Soon, he thought, soon.

The next time the door opened, everyone was throwing fire grenades into the warehouse. Nagito tightened his grip on the cord of the spear, enjoying his last moments. As his vision began to grow cloudy, he smiled a little. But he still felt a little guilty. Was Hajime going to be ok? His smile faded a little, he wanted it to be over so his feelings would disappear. But as the toxic vapour filled the room, he realized. What was he doing? What the fuck was he doing? There must've been a much better way to do this and Hajime needed him and Nagito needed Hajime! He was really about to abandon all of this, huh? It was too late now though, as Nagito was slowly losing consciousness. He wanted to scream out, but the tape muffled all his noises. Tears formed in his eyes, he couldn't tell if that was the poison or his emotions, but he was scared.

Hajime, please forgive me.

That was Nagito's last thought before he slipped unconscious and his body went limp, letting go of the spear in the process. After that ordeal, the sprinklers turned on, allowing everyone else to enter. Hajime immediately ran over, hoping Nagito was ok. 

Once he reached Nagito's body, he was quiet, "no..."

He could've done something! If he had just stayed there for a little longer, then maybe he'd be ok. Then it hit him. 

Was he responsible for Nagito's death?

This wouldn't be good, not at all. Hajime didn't kill Nagito, he knew it. But he still had a lingering feeling that he could easily be blamed for it.

But he had no time to worry about that, as Chiaki put a hand on his shoulder, reminding him that they had to investigate. Yes, of course, they had to investigate. 

"Could I investigate with you Chiaki...?" Hajime asked. He didn't have his usual investigation buddy and Chiaki was a good friend of his. He could use some company during this.

"Of course," Chiaki smiled, staying close to Hajime. 

The two spent time investigating together, until everyone had left. Once everyone had went to look somewhere else, Hajime went back to Nagito's body. He got down on his knees and took the tape off his mouth. Nagito looked scared, so scared. Hajime frowned, wiping his eyes a little.

Chiaki looked over to him, "are you ok Hajime?"

"I just- ugh, I let him down..." Hajime bit his lip, trying to hold back his tears.

"I don't think you did, I mean, he was the one that pushed you away..." Chiaki said.

"N-no... but he said he still loved me...!" Oh god. The tears were coming and Hajime couldn't stop them, "I couldn't live up to his expectations... fuck, why can't I ever be like that? Why can't I just be good enough?! Maybe this wouldn't have happened!" 

"Hey..." Chiaki immediately hugged Hajime, "I don't think any of that, Nagito has his own issues, right? Maybe it was a personal problem... either way I think you are good enough Hajime, Nagito just wasn't ready..."

“This is horrible... whoever did this to him will pay...” Hajime sniffled. Although he knew what most likely happened, he didn’t want to believe that quite yet.

“I know it is, and we’ll find who did it, I think...” Chiaki said softly.

“We will... we will no matter what!” Hajime stood up, he was going to solve this no matter what it took.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing a class trial, so I hope I did ok! Also this is waaaaay more dialogue heavy than normal and it’s not entirely accurate to the actual 5th trial, so I apologize in advance lol

It felt like just as fast Hajime was thrust into the investigation, they were thrust into the trial. But Hajime was concerned, he didn't know if he had enough evidence for this case, yet he had no choice and headed to Monokuma rock.

He didn't want to believe that Nagito did this to himself, he didn't. But where else did the evidence point them? Hajime hoped the others had gathered more evidence as well, so they could figure out what happened.

As they stood in the elevator, Hajime felt a pit growing in his stomach. He had barely processed what had happened, Nagito was really gone. Hajime could've broken down crying right there. But he didn't, they had to deal with the trial first.

Once they reached the trial ground, everyone took their spot. Then Monokuma took his spot, before giving a summary of how the trial worked. Then they got the show on the road.

"Who would do such a thing to Nagito? It's cruel, even for him!" Sonia said.

"Yeah!" Kazuichi added, "he was trying to reveal the traitor, right?"

"Yeah, that's what he said," Fuyuhiko said, "why?"

"Then, wouldn't it make sense for the killer to be the traitor?" Kazuichi asked, "I mean- they'd have the motivation to torture him for info!"

Hold on, was that right? Hajime thought back to Nagito's body for a moment. God, he wished he didn't have to, but this was more important right now. He went over all the parts affected, eventually coming up to Nagito's face.

"No, that's wrong!" Hajime pointed out, "Nagito had duct tape over his mouth, remember? It'd be impossible for the killer to torture Nagito for the sole purpose of information then!"

"Are you sure though?" Kazuichi crossed his arms, "maybe... maybe that was one of the killers tricks! The killer tortured Nagito for information and when he died, the killer put the duct tape over his mouth!"

"Um, I don't think so," Chiaki raised her hand, before adjusting her jacket a little, "if you look back to the body, there were crinkles around Nagito's mouth, right?"

"Then it'd mean that he was trying to open his mouth under the duct tape, right?" Hajime added.

"Exactly," Chiaki nodded, "uh, I think..."

"I- ugh!" Kazuichi grunted, "how do you guys know all of this stuff?"

Did he do any investigating at all? Hajime thought, sighing softly.

After that point was cleared up, they continued on with the trial. Hajime rested his hands on the rail in front of him, listening in on what everyone had to say.

"Well, now that that's cleared up, I have a question," Sonia said.

"Ah- yes! What's your question Miss Sonia?" Kazuichi's eyes lit up.

"If we remember back to how we discovered the body, the door was quite hard to open was it not?" Sonia asked.

"Yeah, it only opened a little bit, right?" Chiaki nodded.

"And I needed to open it by force!" Akane said.

"Then, could the killer leave at all? What was blocking the door anyways?" Sonia crossed her arms.

Hajime sat back and thought about it for a moment? What was in the warehouse that could've blocked the door? It couldn't be the Monokuma plushies, those are too light. It couldn't have been Nagito himself, no, he was already bound to the ground. That raised the question, how did Hajime himself even get in there? Sure, he didn't open the door all the way when he entered by himself, but it wasn't as hard as it was the second time around. If he remembered correctly, the door opened with a little jolt the first time around, and he felt something hit the door again as he entered. What were scattered around the warehouse again? Then it clicked.

"I got it!" Hajime exclaimed, "the Monokuma panels, right? Those were scattered all throughout the warehouse, right?"

"Yeah, so did those block the door?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"They must have," Hajime said, "and if we use that knowledge, we might be able to figure out another piece of this mystery, right Chiaki?"

"I believe so," Chiaki smiled, "before we figure out how the killer would've entered and exited, why don't we take a look at how the fire started?"

"Why that?" Kazuichi asked.

"Because like Hajime said, I think we have the information we need to figure that out," Chiaki said.

"Ok then..." Kazuichi nodded, thinking for a moment, "oh! We found a lighter at the scene of the crime, right?"

"Yeah, but how did it set fire to the back of the warehouse the moment we walked in?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"I think we need to think back to how the Monokuma panels were positioned," Hajime said, "sure, it looked like they were scattered, but there was also a clear line that seemed to act like dominos."

"So are you saying that the killer used the Monokuma panels to knock over the lighter?" Sonia asked.

"And that would make sense how the door could be blocked by the Monokuma panels and for the fire to start when we opened it!" Akane said.

"Then why couldn't we hear the panels falling?" Fuyuhiko crossed his arms, "wouldn't it be very noticeable?"

Hajime had to think for a moment again. Fuyuhiko was right, why didn't they notice the panels? He thought back to how they all found his body, then stood.

"Wasn't there music?" Hajime asked.

"Yeah," Chiaki nodded, "it was on full blast, so it'd be easy to miss the panels."

"Hold on, I think we're getting ahead of ourselves," Fuyuhiko said, "didn't Sonia mention that the killer wouldn't have been able to leave?" 

"Yeah..." Hajime nodded biting his lip, "did he really...?"

He didn't want to believe it still. Hajime still didn't want to believe Nagito actually did all of that to himself. But it seemed that the evidence was clear, and there was almost no denying it.

"Did... did Nagito do this...?" Hajime asked. He was sure he already knew the answer, but he still didn't want to admit that. If the others knew where he was, he would've been ruled a suspect for sure.

"What? How could he?" Fuyuhiko asked, "his hands and legs were tied up, how in the world would he be able to inflict all of that onto himself?"

"Hold on, you might be wrong there," Hajime said.

"What? What do you mean?" Fuyuhiko tilted his head, crossing his arms in the process.

"Well, both of his legs were tied up, but both of his hands? I don't think so," Hajime said.

"What the heck? What's that supposed to mean? Both of his hands were clearly tied up!" Fuyuhiko said frustratedly.

"Maybe that's what it looked like," Hajime leaned on his hands, "but the rope on his right arm was all burnt up!"

"Well yeah, it burnt it the fire!" Fuyuhiko rebutted.

"Not according to the evidence!" Hajime said, "take a look at his right sleeve; if the rope burnt, then wouldn't his sleeve be burnt too?"

Fuyuhiko thought for a moment, "I guess... I guess you're right..."

"Sounds like something Nagito would do," Chiaki said, "he's a master of deception."

"Did he really do all of this just to get us killed?" Fuyuhiko asked, "that- that's beyond cruel!"

Hajime gripped the rail in front of him. He knew Nagito said it was to atone for his sins and to weed out the killer, but he knew he couldn't say that, he'd be voted out for sure. He needed a way to get around this.

"Are you sure it was just because of that?" Hajime asked, "he said he was looking for the traitor right? Then maybe this is his way."

"By killing himself? What?" Kazuichi crossed his arms.

"Well, he told me-" Hajime's eyes widened as he realized what he said. Please let everyone not take it the wrong way.

"What's that look for?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Hey, Hajime went ahead of us, right?" Kazuichi asked, "who's to say he isn't the killer?"

"What? No, that's not right!" Hajime exclaimed.

"Him and Nagito were mad at each other too, right? That'd give him the perfect motive then!" Fuyuhiko said.

Suddenly everyone was throwing accusations at Hajime. He needed to explain himself some way, without looking too suspicious. But everyone's voices just kept piling one on top of the other, not leaving Hajime enough room to think clearly? Should he tell them that he was already in there? Should he not? He didn't know what would be best for everyone. He didn't want everyone to die, not now. He tightened his grip on the rail, biting his lip. This wasn't going to end well if he stayed silent.

"It's wrong!" Hajime got everyone's attention, "it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong!"

"Then what's your evidence?" Fuyuhiko crossed his arms.

"I-I... I was able to get into the warehouse before Nagito died..." Hajime said, his voice shaky, "h-he was still conscious and we talked... he still loved me... I didn't touch anything, I just respected his wishes I swear!"

"Did this include aiding in killing him?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"No! He told me not to touch anything, that for some reason this had to happen..." Hajime said, "I would've saved him if not for that.."

"I believe Hajime," Chiaki chimed in.

"What? You believe something as half baked as that?" Kazuichi asked.

"I don't want to rely on anecdotal evidence, but I believe him," Chiaki said.

"But- but that doesn't prove anything!" Kazuichi said.

"Then why isn't there any blood on my body?" Hajime asked, wiping his eyes, "if I were able to kill Nagito within the time that I went ahead to when you guys entered, I would have nowhere to wash the blood off." 

"Who says you didn't have something to cover yourself then?!" Kazuichi grit his teeth.

"Then where would it be? Surely there would've been scraps left behind from the fire right?" Hajime crossed his arms.

"I-! Ugh..." Kazuichi sighed, "so we have to keep going?"

"Well we know it's Nagito, right?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Well... maybe," Chiaki said, "but I have a feeling that's not all there is to this case."

"What? Why not?" Fuyuhiko sighed.

Hajime thought back to everything so far. What was missing from the case? The Monokuma file, what was on it? No, the better question was what wasn't on it? Then he looked up to Chiaki.

"It's the cause of death, right?" Hajime asked.

"Yeah, so far there's been a clear cause of death in each Monokuma file, but in Nagito's, there's no concrete cause of death," Chiaki said, "and if we remember back to past Monokuma files, the most important thing about the case is the cause of death, right?"

"Well wouldn't it be the spear?" Sonia asked.

"How did he even stab himself with the spear anyways?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"He could've done that first and then endured the pain," Sonia suggested.

"No, it would've had to be last," Chiaki said, "that spear would've held him down on the ground at the very least."

"How could he have impaled himself then?" Fuyuhiko asked, "he had a knife stabbed through his right hand and his left hand was tied up!" 

Hajime began to picture the crime scene again. Was there anything strange that could point out how Nagito would've been able to impale himself? His right hand was impaled with a knife, but his left hand... there was a strange blood spatter on it.

"Could he have held onto the cord?" Hajime asked.

"You're not saying he managed to swing the spear into the air and impaled himself?" Kazuichi sounded dumbfounded.

"No, I think I know what Hajime's saying," Chiaki said, "he strung it up from the girder in the ceiling, right?"

"Yeah, the bloodstain on the girder, right?" Hajime nodded.

"Mhm, and when you look at the wounds in his arm, they're not that severe so he could've held onto the spear," Chiaki said.

"So he held onto it the entire time and let it fall onto him?" Kazuichi asked.

"Seems so," Hajime nodded.

"So the spear killed him then? Shouldn't we get on to the voting?" Fuyuhiko asked.

"Yeah! I think we're done here," Akane said.

"Hold on," Chiaki said, "is it really safe to say that that was the murder weapon?"

"Well what else could it be?!" Fuyuhiko slammed his hands down, "I am so sick of this, why do you keep going on and on about this? What else could it even be?!"

"Fuyuhiko, calm down!" Sonia said, "I am sure that Chiaki has some evidence."

"Yeah, Hajime and I checked out Nagito's cottage," Chiaki looked to the brunet.

"And we found some pretty weird things," Hajime added, "like a gas mask, gloves and in the fridge, and a bottle in his fridge."

"What kind of bottle? What was in it?" Akane asked.

"It was labeled Monokuma's Special Poison..." Hajime said.

"Do you think that could've had a hand in the killing?" Sonia asked.

"Most definitely," Chiaki said.

"So you're saying he stabbed, impaled and poisoned himself?" Fuyuhiko looked dumbfounded, "this guy- how?!"

"Yeah, how could he poison himself when the poison itself was in the fridge?" Akane asked.

"Well... that's what we need to find out," Chiaki crossed her arms.

What did they read off the bottle again? It could be use in a gaseous state, right? Then maybe it was used like that, but how? Nagito was obviously handling it himself, seeing as he had the gloves and the gas mask. Now that Hajime was thinking about it, was that why he found Nagito passed out only a few days earlier? He couldn't find the gas mask in Nagito's cottage when he found him the first time, so that could've been why. Hajime shook his head, getting back on track. How could the poison enter his system through the gas? Then it hit him. The blue piece of paper on the ground, the fire, it was starting to come together!

"The fire grenades!" Hajime blurted out, "the fire grenades, it has to be!"

"What about them? Kazuichi asked.

"That's how the poison got into Nagito's system!" Hajime said, "when Chiaki and I went into Nagito's cottage, we found a piece of blue paper on the ground, that matches up with the fire grenades, right?"

"Yes it does!" Sonia said, "but... that would mean one of us would've had to kill him unintentionally then..."

"Now why would he do that?!" Fuyuhiko asked.

"It'd be... it'd be to find the traitor right?" Hajime said.

"How in the hell could he find the traitor just by the fire grenades?" Fuyuhiko leaned towards Hajime.

"Because of his luck of course," Chiaki chimed in, "he's the ultimate lucky student, he could've totally relied on his luck for the traitor to grab the fire grenade with the poison in it."

"Then how do we know who it is?" Kazuichi asked.

"Hm... do you think if the traitor revealed themselves during the bomb scare, Nagito still would've been here?" Chiaki asked, "but... they couldn't do it, even if they wanted to... because... they weren't made to do that."

"Chiaki...? What are you talking about?" Hajime asked.

"I... I want you guys to guess," Chiaki said.

"Huh..?" Hajime bit his lip.

"Who do you think the traitor is Hajime?" Chiaki asked.

"Chiaki..? W-why are you asking me?" Hajime held his hands up.

"Who you think is the traitor?" Chiaki repeated herself, "please... Hajime..."

It seemed pretty clear to Hajime, but he didn't want to say it. He was quiet, he wanted to be wrong.

"Chiaki...?" Hajime looked to her.

Chiaki smiled, "Yep, you got it Hajime... I'm the agent sent by Future Foundation."

"Wait, you tricked us?" Kazuichi asked.

"There's no way! I don't believe it," Akane said.

"There is no proof, so I don't believe it either!" Sonia said 

"Hm... then Hajime, could you do me a favour?" Chiaki looked back over to the brunet, "prove to them that I'm the traitor."

"Ah- why me??" Hajime asked.

"As much as I wish I could explain everything, I can't... so please Hajime?" Chiaki asked.

"I- it's not a matter of whether or not I can prove it... it's like... it's like you're asking me to kill you! I can't do that, I can't!" Hajime exclaimed. He couldn't lose her too, not now.

"Hajime... this is the only way..." Chiaki said.

"Chiaki isn't the traitor!" Monomi exclaimed.

"Huh?" Chiaki looked over to the rabbit.

"She can't be the traitor! I don't know who she is! I've always worked alone... no friends, no nothing!" Monomi said.

"Are you really trying to cover for her? Boring!" Monokuma chimed in.

"Hajime, please...?" Chiaki asked, "I know you can do this."

Hajime bit his lip. He had to do this, right? When he was investigating Nagito's cottage, he found Monomi's notebook that Nagito had stolen. And Monomi couldn't write, so the traitor must've written it instead. Inside the notebook though, was the entry on the final dead room, so it seemed the evidence was damning.

"The notebook..." Hajime said, "Monomi's notebook!"

"Huh?!" Monomi blinked.

Hajime went on to explain his evidence, yet everyone still seemed to be on edge.

"That... that can't be right!" Sonia said, "if it is... then what was all the time we spent together?!"

"And why would she make such a reckless decision with the bomb scare?" Akane asked, "she swiped it without hesitation! A traitor would be more careful!"

"Chiaki... she probably knew the bomb was a fake already... just like Nagito's trap too..." Hajime said.

"What?! Do you want Chiaki to be the traitor?!" Sonia bit her lip.

"I- of course not...! But the evidence-"

"I refuse to believe it!" Sonia exclaimed, cutting off Hajime in the process.

"But... but then no one will be saved!" Hajime rebutted.

"Chiaki couldn't have known the bomb was a fake!" Sonia said, "I only knew!"

"Maybe Chiaki wasn't there, but she still could've known!" Hajime leaned on the rail again, "Monomi was with you when you found out the bomb at the military base wasn't real, you said that, so Monomi could've told her!"

"I guess I should just confess then," Chiaki started, "the reason I couldn't tell anyone the bomb was a fake was because, if I said that I would've had to explain myself..."

"It can't be right!" Sonia seemed to be getting tears in her eyes, "just because Chiaki knew the bomb was fake, doesn't mean she's the traitor!"

"It doesn't matter about if she knew the bomb was fake, what matters is that she heard about the bomb from Monomi!" Hajime said.

"But Monokuma also knew that...!" Sonia grit her teeth, trying to prove that Chiaki was innocent.

"Yeah, but Monokuma didn't tell anyone either," Hajime said, "he said when he told us the bombs were fake that it was the first time he said it!"

"But... is it really ok to vote off Chiaki...?" Fuyuhiko asked, "should we... should we really trust Nagito's luck?"

"I- no!" Hajime said, "we need to believe in Chiaki! Chiaki she... I believe when she says that she wants to protect us! But if we don't believe in her... no one will be saved!" 

"No... no this can't be right..." Akane sniffled.

"You don't have to be sad guys, this time it's different," Chiaki smiled, "instead of staying alive by doubting someone, you guys can stay alive by believing in me..."

"It is too cruel to sacrifice you Chiaki!" Sonia clenched her hands into fists.

"Chiaki...!" Monomi cried.

"I'm sorry... I just, I wanna protect everyone by any means necessary," Chiaki said.

Hajime bit his lip. This wasn't fair at all, there's no way this could've happened! As much as Hajime didn't want to believe it, who else could it be? He gulped, he had to move forward. Even if he didn't want to, or even if it felt like he couldn't, he had to.

"So, I guess it's voting time hm?" Monokuma giggled.

There wasn't anything else left to say. Everyone was silent as they cast their vote, how could they say anything now? It almost felt inappropriate. It hurt everyone to do this, but they knew it was right. They all stood back after they cast their votes, dreadfully waiting as they were shown their results.

"You're correct! The blackened and the traitor is Chiaki Nanami!" Monokuma laughed.

"So... so it's true...?" Hajime bit his lip.

"Yeah, I'm glad that you guys were able to figure it out..." Chiaki smiled softly.

"How can you be smiling through this...? You... you know what's going to happen to you don't you?" Fuyuhiko said softly.

"Yeah, I know... but everyone's gonna be safe, right?" Chiaki said, "you guys will get through this, I know you will!"

"I've prepared a very special punishment for Miss Nanami," Monokuma began.

"Chiaki, I... I wish it didn't have to be this way..." Hajime looked to her.

"Me too, but everything is gonna be ok..." Chiaki said softly. She then moved over to Hajime and hugged him gently, "you guys will get through this, I know it..."

Hajime hugged Chiaki as well, "b-but... you and Nagito... you guys..."

"It'll be fine Hajime, I promise..." Chiaki rubbed Hajime's back.

"Now, let's give it everything we got! It's PUNISHMENT TIME!" Monokuma exclaimed.

"Wait... wait! Not yet...!" Hajime tried to delay, but it was no use as Chiaki was torn away from him.

Hajime watched in horror as Chiaki's execution began. He felt so hopeless, so useless. No matter what, Hajime couldn't help her. He hoped that she'd be able to get out, he pleaded in his head for her to escape. This was far from fair. First Nagito, now Chiaki? In one day, everything had fallen apart in front of Hajime. He could've collapsed right there, but he forced himself to stay upright, he tried to stay strong for Chiaki and Nagito, he had to.

When it was all over, everyone was left speechless. Was there even anything they could say? This all felt unreal, Chiaki was really gone, just like everyone else. Everyone left all looked around in silence, were they really supposed to just go back and go to bed? They didn’t want to, but it seemed that they were ushered out of the trial grounds by Monokuma. As soon as Hajime had left, he started to speed up. He walked faster and faster towards the hotel, until he was nearly sprinting. This wasn’t fair, this wasn’t fair at all! As soon as he made it to his cottage, he slammed the door, before leaning up against it.

“Are they... are they really gone...?” Hajime mumbled to himself.

His eyes wandered around the room. Even if Nagito had stopped staying at Hajime’s cottage, there will still some of his things laying around. Like the pair of shorts he wore every night to bed, the hair brush he stole from Hajime, his shampoo, his conditioner, it all broke Hajime’s heart. He covered his mouth as he realized the tears starting to fall from his eyes. Hajime was scared of crying out, he didn’t want anyone to find him. He very well knew that this was a normal reaction for anyone, but for some reason Hajime couldn’t bring himself to do it. He was never able to. Even as a kid he did his best not to cry. He wanted to be the tough boy, the one that everyone liked, he wanted to be interesting. The brunet thought he’d achieved that when he got into Hope’s Peak Academy, but that’s turned out to be nothing special, he didn’t even have talent. 

Hajime sniffled a little as he gently lowered himself to the ground. He felt hopeless, what was he going to do now? Chiaki said that everything would be ok, but how? It felt impossible. The despair that fell upon him was heavy, it felt like it could crush Hajime at any moment. He kept thinking, what if I didn’t listen to Nagito? If he had just helped him, then maybe everything would’ve been ok. But he was stupid enough to turn that lighter on. Hajime kept telling himself that he wasn’t responsible, but he couldn’t deny it. He killed Nagito, he should’ve been executed, not Chiaki. Why was he given mercy when both his lover and best friend had to die? 

It wasn’t fair, none of this was fair. All Hajime knew is that he just wanted to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Just letting you know that I’ll be coming out with another fic soon! It’s called, A Prisoner Within My Own Mind, so be on the lookout!


	17. Chapter 17

How could Hajime even get out of bed after everything that happened? It was almost infuriating, this was all wrong. But despite that, he still forced himself out of bed. Hajime hastily threw on his clothes, not really prepared for everything that was about to go down.

As Hajime left his cottage, he was caught a little off guard, "Chiaki...?"

Was he seeing things right? This couldn't be Chiaki, she... she died. But she spoke, acting as if nothing happened, "Hajime, you gotta hurry to the restaurant, everyone's waiting!"

"What...? What's going on?" Hajime's feet brought him towards the restaurant. He had no idea what was going on. Was this some weird dream? Hajime didn't have any time to worry about that though, he needed to move.

When Hajime arrived to the restaurant, it turned out Nagito had a message meant for after. But... what was going on? Hajime had to be dreaming. Nothing felt real. Why was he seeing his friends? His dead friends? Everything felt fuzzy around him, like everything was breaking down. Once Hajime got the password out of Nagito's video though, he was already prepared to head straight to the ruins. He just wanted to get off the island. He just wanted to go home. Once the video ended, Hajime looked back to everyone. But then, another video started.

"Is Hajime still here? I bet he is, I knew you could do it!" Nagito's voice rang from the computer, "even if I wanted my plan to go my way, I truly believed you'd be able to do it... but could I speak to Hajime alone?"

Hajime looked back to everyone again and they all nodded. They left the restaurant, waiting outside the restaurant while Hajime received his message.

Nagito started off with what he said to Hajime before he died. That he still loved Hajime, so much. But then he continued on, having more to say to the brunet.

"I know I'm already dead by the time you see this... but somewhere, somehow, I hope we meet again..." Nagito's expression seemed to soften and it was almost like he was looking right into Hajime's eyes, "even if we meet in the afterlife 50, 60 years later, I'd be delighted. No matter how long it takes, I will wait for you Hajime... but don't rush yourself ok? You have much more important things to deal with before dying ok?"

Nagito ended with a small smile, enough to make Hajime tear up a little. The brunet wiped his eyes and sighed, looking back to the computer screen.

"I love you Hajime... you go escape here and live ok? All of you need to get out of there ok?" Nagito said.

Hajime nodded as if Nagito was really there, he hoped if he believed enough that it'd be true.

"Well, I have matters to attend to... goodbye Hajime, I love you," Nagito smiled, before the screen went dark.

Hajime sighed, wiping his eyes, "Nagito... I'm so sorry... I should've done something I'm sorry..."

But Hajime didn't have time to stick around. The brunet collected himself, then hurried out of the restaurant, "We need to go," he said. And it seemed he didn't need to say much more, as everyone agreed and they were off.

They all made their way to the ruins, though it felt like a larger group than normal. Seriously, what was going on? Hajime just sighed and shook his head, picking his pace up. He hoped to god this wasn't some dream, he wasn't ready to come so close to getting out just to wake up. Though once they all stood in front of the ruins, everything seemed to stand still. Everyone looked to Hajime, assuming he'd just enter it. But Hajime was nervous. What if Nagito was wrong? What if he entered the wrong password? Hajime bit his lip and swallowed his anxieties, then hesitantly entered the password.

Hajime had his body tensed, braced for anything that'd come. Thankfully nothing did, and the brunet could open his eyes, letting out a sigh of relief. He smiled a little, this could be everyone's ticket out! Hajime looked back to everyone, offering an encouraging nod before entering the ruins.

But as the doors shut behind them, a cold frigid chill struck them. Despair. That's what it was. It was almost unbearable, the place practically stunk of pure despair. But Hajime just bit his lip, continuing forward.

It was time for a final trial. They were tasked by Monokuma to find out the mystery of all of this. Finally, finally they'd be able to leave. Everything just had to go to plan. 

As Hajime explored the ruins, he soon realized where they were. This was Hope's Peak Academy. The puzzle pieces were slowly starting to come together, but Hajime would have to wait for the trial for everything to come together.

Hajime didn't rush to make his way to the trial ground. He wanted to get this over with, but he didn't know what to expect. If they failed, they'd all die. Hajime was relatively quiet, but once the trial started, he was prepared. 

Everyone was focused during the trial. They all knew the stakes and they all knew what they had to focus on. So they began cracking down on everything, beginning to slowly unravel the mysteries of Jabberwock island. But just as they were starting to get somewhere, it seemed like everything went to shit. 

Everything went by in a blur. Hajime managed to stay focused, but only for a little at certain moments. The world was quite literally crumbling before him as each moment passed. Hajime was ready to give up when not only Makoto showed up, but Byakuya, Kyoko and when Junko appeared, Hajime almost lost it. 

But, he refused to give up. Even if Junko tried to convince everyone to let her take over their dead friends, even if she tried to convince Hajime that he was Izuru Kamukura and that was it. But that wasn't true, Hajime knew he was his own person and they everyone could get out of this. They were the future, and no one could stop them from creating their own future.

Hajime was soon met with darkness. Darkness surrounded him after they all got out of there. Hajime didn't know where he was, but at the very least he was out of that damn simulation.

When Hajime regained consciousness, he immediately jolted up. But that proved to be a bit of a stupid decision, as he hit his head off the door of the pod he was in. That seemed to alert people in the room who all gathered around him. Hajime looked a little overwhelmed, backing up a bit as his eyes wandered between everyone.

"Ah- it's ok! We're not going to hurt you," a short brunet held his hand out, who Hajime soon recognized as Makoto "is your head ok?"

Hajime reached up, gently taking the other boy's hand, "y-yeah, I'm fine... what about the others?"

Makoto pulled Hajime up and helped him out of the pod, "Sonia, Fuyuhiko, Akane, and Kazuichi are waking up as well... the others though, we're unsure... there's still signs of brain activity in all the others, but no sign that they'll be waking up anytime soon..."

"So essentially they're all in a coma...?" Hajime asked, tucking some hair behind his ear. He then looked back to his hair, realizing just how long it was.

"Yeah," Makoto nodded, then noticed Hajime eyeing his hair, "oh, I'm guessing you'd wanna get that cut, huh?"

"It can wait for now, I just wanna make sure everyone's ok first," Hajime said, pushing his hair out of his face and going to the others, who were all situated around the room.

"Hajime!" Sonia said once she was upright.

"Are the other three ok?" Hajime asked, making his way to her.

"Yeah, yeah we're good..." Fuyuhiko said, joining the other two while the last two followed behind. 

"So, what about the others?" Akane asked, looking to the rest of their classmates who laid in the shut pods.

"There may be a way to wake them up," Makoto said, "we... just haven't found that yet..."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Hajime asked, looking to Makoto.

"We need to assess you guys first," Byakuya cut in, "once we know that all of you are safe, then we can proceed to consider giving you jobs."

"I think they've proved themselves, both inside the neo world program and out right now," Makoto looked to Byakuya.

"I just want to be sure Makoto," Byakuya said.

While the two bickered, Hajime looked around at everyone else in the pods. He sighed when his eyes landed Nagito though. At least he knew he was alive, but he was just out of reach. The brunet walked over to where Nagito laid, watching him quietly. Nagito's face looked quite peaceful, even though Hajime knew that whatever was going on in the white haired boy's head was not peaceful. Makoto said that there was still brain activity right? So whatever was going on in Nagito's head, Hajime doubted it was peaceful.

He sighed, gently placing a hand over the pod, "we'll find a way Nagito, I promise..."

Hajime then looked back to everyone else, who all seemed to be looking at him. He stood up straight, clearing his throat, "Ah... did I miss something...?"

"We were just discussing what to do with you guys," Byakuya said.

"Oh, yeah... I guess you can't really keep us here..." Hajime chuckled softly, "we aren't the greatest people..."

"Well I don't think so," Makoto said, "I think you've guys proven that you've changed."

"Still, we need to figure out what to do," Byakuya sighed, "we should go discuss this with others, right Makoto?"

"Yeah, we probably should..." Makoto said, "I can trust you guys to stay here right? We'll bring you guys food after!"

Everyone in the room nodded, agreeing and letting Makoto and Byakuya go deal with other matters. Once they were gone, Hajime returned his attention to Nagito. He smiled softly, he could feel memories starting to come back. He remembered how the two met in the first place. Hajime was right when he suspected their meeting in the hospital. His family had gotten in a car accident, so that's why he was even in the hospital. He had gotten out of the accident without sustaining too many injuries, so he was able to wander around the hospital a lot. 

The memories started to come back, and soon it was like he was right back in that hospital. He kicked his heels as he walked, he was bored out of his mind. Hajime lifted his head from his feet and looked around the hospital, everything looked the same. The off-white colour of the walls hurt the brunet's eyes, it was everywhere, he couldn't escape it. Hajime sighed, continuing forward as his head dipped back down to his feet.

Hajime was just going to make his way back to his room, but he was quickly stopped by someone in another room.

"Who are you? I've never seen you here before,"

Hajime turned his head into the room the voice came from, "are you talking to me...?"

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" The boy asked.

"Um... my family and I got in a car accident..." Hajime said. He examined the other boy. They looked to be about the same age, with ginger hair and white hair at the roots. He smiled softly, looking pretty welcoming to Hajime. 

"That's quite the stroke of bad luck, is the rest of your family ok?" The boy asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah, they're all resting right now," Hajime smiled a little.

"Why are you still standing out there? I mean no harm!" The boy chuckled softly, beckoning Hajime in.

"Are you sure?" Hajime asked, entering the boys room apprehensively.

"Mhm, I wouldn't mind having someone to talk to..." The boy smiled, "I'm Nagito Komaeda, if that information is useful to you."

"Oh, I'm Hajime Hinata," Hajime said, reaching over to shake Nagito's hand once he reached his bed, "so why are you here?"

"Ah, advanced lymphoma and frontotemporal dementia, it's terminal yet they insist on treating me, so I just do what they ask of me," Nagito chuckled softly.

"You're... awfully calm about it," Hajime bit his lip, "you're not scared of dying at all...?"

"Well... I believe in my luck," Nagito smiled.

Hajime didn't even know how to answer. This guy was relying on his luck? He seemed a little strange, but at the same time Hajime was intrigued.

After a while of silence, Nagito opened his mouth again to speak, "ah, you're probably wondering why I'm relying on luck right?"

Hajime just nodded, taking a seat in the chair beside Nagito's bed.

"You've heard of Hope's Peak Academy, yes?" Nagito asked.

Hajime's eyes widened. Was he sitting in front of an ultimate right now? He felt immediately jealous. Though he wondered if they'd be able to see each other at school, considering Hajime was in the Reserve Course. Either way, he nodded, "of course I have."

"Well, I've been give the title of the ultimate lucky student," Nagito said, "I don't see it as a very useful talent in the long run, but I can only hope it promises me a good future."

"Well if you can graduate then you're basically guaranteed a successful future!" Hajime said.

Nagito chuckled, "yeah... Anyways, what about you? What do you do for school?" He asked. He probably wouldn't have talked to Hajime in the first place, but he was bored himself so he could use this.

"Ah, I'm just a normal high school student... I'm not that special..." Hajime said softly, "in fact, I almost envy you, I've looked up to Hope's Peak for a while..."

"Well... talent may be the most important thing in this world, but for some reason I can sense some kind of hope inside you..." Nagito said.

That was a bit of a backhanded compliment... Well, either way Hajime was just glad to have someone to talk to.

Though Hajime was snapped out of his little reminiscing session by the sounds of footsteps entering the room again.

When he saw Makoto, he spoke up, “is there a plan?”

“Yes, it took a little convincing, but I got through to everyone,” Makoto smiled, “so! Here’s the plan. We will provide you all with living quarters if you all work for future foundation, then when everyone else wakes up we’ll discuss further plans.”

Hajime nodded and looked around to the others, smiling a little, “I think that sounds good...”

Everyone seemed to agree, adding their own acknowledgements and nods. Makoto nodded as well, beckoning everyone alone, “come on! I’ll show you guys around.”

The five followed behind Makoto, all staying close together. It seemed everything was finally going to be ok. They all exchanged looks from time to time, and although there was a hint of fear and confusion in their eyes, there was also hope. Everyone would be able to recover from their scars eventually, whether it be physical or mental. It’d take time sure, but this was the first step to recovery. They knew that none of them would give up, not now. They had their whole future ahead of them and they were ready to face it confidently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOO that was a doozy to write, sorry this took so long! I’ll be sure to get the next chapter out soon!


	18. Chapter 18

It seemed that the 5 had adjusted pretty well to working with future foundation, everyone had even started to wake up, so that was giving everyone hope. It was nice to see and Hajime was glad that he could help out. He spent most of his days in the pod room by Nagito, so he was the most accessible person there.

But today was quiet, leaving Hajime to work pretty peacefully. He sat in the same place he did everyday, in a simple chair right by where Nagito lay asleep, with piles and piles of work on either side of him. He tied his hair back, not yet caring to cut it as of yet, he'd just been too busy. He grabbed his laptop off the ground where his paperwork laid and placed it in his lap, before leaning on top of it to look to Nagito.

"Good morning Nagito... I received reports on your condition, apparently they'll be sending World Destroyer in to help you" Hajime said, even if Nagito couldn't reply, the brunet continued, "I had a hand in creating the AI, since they based it off Izuru and then my appearance, so I guess you might get to kinda see me before you wake," he chuckled softly.

Hajime looked back to Nagito, who laid silent as he always did in his pod. The brunet sighed, "oh what's the use...? You can't say anything..."

Hajime swore he saw Nagito's hand twitch a little. But that would be typical, right? He's just in a coma, not dead. Hajime shook his head and sighed again, before looking to his laptop and getting to work.

Hajime didn't even know how long he was working until the door opened and Makoto entered.

"I thought I'd find you here," Makoto chuckled softly.

Hajime lifted his head from his computer, tucking some loose hair behind his ear, "oh, have I been gone long?" 

"Lunch is nearly over, how about you come get some food with me?" Makoto offered.

"Well..." Hajime looked to the work he had with him, "I have things to do... but I should probably take a break, right?"

"Yeah I mean, you need to eat!" Makoto said, walking over to Hajime. He noticed just how unruly his hair had gotten, earning a small chuckle from him, "maybe while we're at it we should take care of your hair too."

"Do we have time for that?" Hajime asked, putting his laptop down. 

"Of course! It shouldn't take too long..." Makoto smiled.

Hajime nodded and stood up, "well, if you want to do that I won't stop you."

"Despite all your talents, I'm sure it's a little annoying and hard not to trip over," Makoto chuckled, walking with Hajime outside and down the hall. 

"Yeah I guess, putting it up doesn't really help either," Hajime said, pushing some hair out of his face.

"Well we can fix it!" Makoto said, "we can probably use an empty meeting room to get the job done."

Hajime nodded as him and Makoto walked down the hall to find an empty room so they could have some privacy while Makoto cut his hair. They did eventually find an empty room and Makoto opened the door for Hajime.

"I'll be right back, you just chill out ok?" Makoto said.

"Are you sure you don't want some help?" Hajime asked.

"No it's fine, you work hard enough Hajime, you can just relax for now," Makoto smiled softly.

"You work pretty hard too, shouldn't you be taking a break?" Hajime sat down on one of the chairs.

"Yeah I guess, maybe I'll take a break later... but right now we need to take care of your hair!" Makoto said, before turning and leaving.

Hajime sighed, quietly spinning around in the chair. He was pretty sure he would've been fine if he kept his hair that length, but either way he was grateful Makoto was willing to do this. Hajime took his hair out from his half ponytail-half bun and let it fall down his back. The brunet sighed softly, gently running his fingers though his hair. It was surprisingly soft and smooth, despite the amount of times Hajime's forgotten to brush it. Must've been his luck. He chuckled softly, draping his hair over one of his shoulders.

"I feel like Rapunzel..." he mumbled to himself, smiling softly.

Then the door opened, letting Makoto back inside, "I found everything, are you all set?"

Hajime looked to the other brunet, "yeah, are you gonna need some help?"

"Probably... are you able to guide me?" Makoto asked.

Hajime took a moment to think, then nodded, "yeah I think I got it."

"Ok, can I just start by chopping a bunch off?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah, just make sure you don't cut too far up," Hajime nodded.

Makoto nodded and took the scissors he had, gently taking Hajime's hair in one hand. Then he started cutting at about shoulder length, dropping the large amount of hair onto the ground. Hajime looked back onto the floor, his eyes widening a little.

"Wow, you really went for it huh?" Hajime chuckled softly.

"Yeah, it's ok right?" Makoto asked. 

"Yeah!" Hajime smiled softly, "now I'll guide you through it..."

Hajime slowly but surely guided Makoto through the haircut. It was surprisingly a more fun experience than Hajime originally anticipated. He thought that it was just gonna be quiet, with him just telling Makoto what to do, but that didn't seem to be the case. The two ended up laughing along, in fact Hajime wasn’t sure if he’d laughed this hard in a long time.

About halfway through Makoto had to pause, putting the scissors down and covering his mouth, trying to hold himself back from completely losing it. Hajime looked back to Makoto, snickering softly.

"What did you do Makoto?" Hajime bit his lip, holding back his laughter.

"Oh my goodness, look!" Makoto grabbed a mirror and passed it to Hajime.

Hajime took the mirror and looked at himself. He immediately covered his mouth with his other hand, trying not to burst out in crying laughter. His hair looked insane. Makoto was following Hajime's instructions, but this was the definition of trust the process. Hajime's hair was going every which way at many different lengths. Once Hajime was pretty sure he wouldn't start laughing, he carefully removed his hand from his mouth and looked up to Makoto.

"Makoto... you- wow-" Hajime didn't even know how to answer.

Makoto just shrugged, a small giggle escaping him. But when he let out a tiny snort, the two of them lost it. They both threw their heads back in laughter. Even if they tried to suppress their laughter, they only got louder and louder until the door flew open.

"What is the meaning of-" Byakuya entered, before quickly stopping when he saw the two brunets, "what... what are you too doing?"

"I'm cutting Hajime's hair!" Makoto giggled.

"And why does it look like that...?" Byakuya asked.

"Trust me, I'm guiding him along," Hajime chuckled softly.

"You wanna come help?" Makoto offered.

"No I most definitely do not," Byakuya said, "just don't take too long ok?"

"Yep! We won't be too long," Makoto said and looked to Hajime, chuckling softly, "hopefully..."

"Very well, and be sure to clean up your mess," Byakuya said, before leaving the two be.

Makoto took a deep breath and picked the scissors back up, "ok... let's get back to work then, shall we?"

"Just don't stab me while you're laughing ok?" Hajime chuckled.

"I'll do my best!" Makoto giggled.

Then the two got back to work. Hajime continued to guide Makoto along, doing his best not to laugh and eventually they seemed to be finished.

Makoto passed Hajime the mirror, "how's this look?"

Hajime smiled once he had the mirror, "this looks great... thank you Makoto... so much..."

"Ah, don't worry about it Hajime! I'm glad you're happy..." Makoto smiled, "now, why don't we go get some food?"

"That sounds good, let's do that," Hajime nodded, then stood.

The two first cleaned up all the hair on the floor, then threw it all away. Then they left, going to the cafeteria. On their way, they passed Byakuya, who took a moment to examine Hajime's haircut.

"How'd I do Byakuya?" Makoto asked, smiling softly. 

"Hm... it's acceptable, I guess," Byakuya crossed his arms.

"Come on, you like it," Makoto chuckled, elbowing Byakuya in the side a little.

"I said it's acceptable, is that not enough?" Byakuya asked, who looked like he was trying to hold back a smile.

"You don't have to be so formal, we're close enough!" Makoto said.

Byakuya sighed and let up, letting a small smile slip through, "I guess... but I'd still say it's acceptable," he chuckled softly.

"Well I'm proud of it," Makoto chuckled, "anyways we're going to get food, see you in a bit!"

"See you later Makoto," Byakuya smiled softly, waving a bit and walking off.

Then the two boys continued to the cafeteria and got food. They went to sit where they normally sat with their colleagues, only to be met with a lot of them noticing Hajime's haircut.

"Ah, Hajime! You look like how you did in the neo world program!" Sonia smiled as Hajime and Makoto sat down.

"Yeah, Makoto helped me with it," Hajime chuckled.

"Makoto seems pretty good at cutting hair!" Kazuichi said.

"Oh no, Hajime just told me what to do," Makoto chuckled softly, holding his hands up.

"But it still looks reaaaaaally good!" Ibuki smiled, "Makoto should do Ibuki's hair sometime!"

"Really, you should get Hajime to do it!" Makoto said.

"Oh, ok! Will you do Ibuki's hair sometime Hajime?" Ibuki looked to Hajime.

"Ah- sure, maybe..." Hajime chuckled softly, before starting to eat.

Hajime looked around the table, smiling softly. He was glad that everyone had started to wake up. Even with everything that had happened to them, everyone seemed to be cheery. It gave Hajime a bit more hope. He couldn't wait until Nagito could join them and most importantly, reunite with Hajime. He hoped that they'd be able reconcile and that Nagito could reconcile with the others.

Once Hajime was finished, he stood up, "I think I'm gonna get back to work, it was nice talking to you all!"

"Don't push yourself too hard ok?" Makoto said.

"Of course, I just want to spend a little more time with him..." Hajime smiled a little, before heading off.

Hajime hurried back to where Nagito laid asleep, sighing softly as he settled back down into his seat. He grabbed all his work again, opening his laptop again. 

As Hajime worked, he mumbled to Nagito every so often. He wasn't talking about anything in particular, mostly just telling him what he was doing or slipping small little compliments. He hoped the plan with World Destroyer would go smoothly, Nagito had his luck. If Hajime could, he would've lent Nagito some of his luck as well.

Once he was finished with his work for the day, Hajime cleaned up all of his work and was about to head out, but not before saying bye to Nagito.

"Bye Nagito, hopefully the next time we meet again, hopefully you can say it back..." Hajime said softly, then walked off.

Hajime returned to the living quarters for the night, allowing himself to rest for the night. He entered his room with a yawn, putting his things down on his desk and flopping onto his bed. He knew he was going to have to change into his pyjamas eventually, but he just needed a moment to relax. Hajime rolled over onto his back, pulling his tie off as he stared up at the ceiling. He was so tired, but his body told him to stay awake, just a little longer. It was early anyways, so Hajime wasn't in a hurry to fall asleep at all.

The brunet sat up a bit, whatever was telling him to stay up could be important but Hajime wanted to get out of this suit. He pulled his suit jacket off and went to his closet, pulling out some comfier clothes, but not informal. Hajime got himself unchanged, then pulled on a nice sweater and some comfortable pants. 

Hajime then took some time to lay down for a bit, but something was nagging him in the back of his head. He tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't stop bothering him. Eventually Hajime had to get up and investigate this nagging feeling. He left his room, letting his feet carry him wherever they wanted to. He ended up in front of where the pod room was again. Hajime opened the door slowly, seeing everyone inside.

Kazuichi hurried over when he saw Hajime, "Hajime! We were just gonna come get you!"

"Wait, what's going on?" Hajime asked.

"Nagito, we think he's waking up!" Mahiru said.

"Wait what?" Hajime blinked, before hurrying over. His intuition seemed to be on his side.

Hajime approached Nagito, seeing that the pod door was open. It brought a hopeful smile to his face.

"Nagito..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m thinking that the next chapter might be the end, that makes me kind of sad. But I’m thinking about writing a sequel, what do you guys think?


	19. Chapter 19

"Nagito..."

That was the first thing Nagito heard as he began to regain consciousness. His eyes fluttered open slowly and he looked around, groaning softly.

Nagito looked up to the boy overtop of him, "Izuru Kamukura...?" He thought for a moment, before smiling softly, "no... Hajime Hinata, right...?"

"Yeah..." Hajime nodded, holding his hand out to Nagito.

Nagito reached his hands up, though something was wrong. He watched one of his wrists go limp, causing his eyes to widen as the memories started to come back. Hajime took his good hand, gently pulling him up. The white haired boy immediately wrapped his arms around Hajime, relaxing a little bit when he felt Hajime rubbing his back.

"It's good to have you back..." Hajime smiled softly.

"You really think so...?" Nagito asked. With everything he’d done to Hajime leading up to his death, he was fully expecting to be overall disliked by the brunet.

Hajime nodded, pulling away a little so he could look at Nagito's face, "of course, I missed you Nagito..."

Nagito opened his mouth, about to reply, but he was stopped by some other members of the future foundation. Like Mikan and Fuyuhiko, they would have to do something about Nagito's arm.

"Sorry to interrupt, but could we take a look at your arm? We'd like to do some other examinations as well too," 

"Ah... I guess I have no choice right? Could Hajime join me though?" Nagito asked, "and I'd like to speak to the others if I'm able to..."

"Of course, take your time," one of the members said, stepping back a bit.

Nagito smiled, then looked to the others. His smile faltered a little, he was definitely a little nervous to face everyone again. But someone was already running towards him.

Ibuki ran to Nagito, scooping him up from Hajime and into her arms, "Nagito! Ibuki's excited to see you again!"

Nagito chuckled, gently resting his arms around her shoulders, "me too Ibuki! I was scared I wouldn't see you again..."

"Well Ibuki's here now, in the flesh!" She smiled, letting Nagito down. 

"Yeah... it's... I'm so glad...!" Nagito hugged her once more.

When Nagito pulled away, he looked around. Everyone seemed to be relatively friendly, but the survivors other than Hajime seemed a little apprehensive. Nagito understood though, he did do some pretty terrible things before his death.

He just smiled, returning to Hajime, "well... it was nice seeing you all!"

Hajime took Nagito's hand gently, then they went off with some other Future Foundation members so Nagito could be examined. 

"So um... Hajime...?" Nagito looked over to him as they walked, he knew that he had to be examined but he wanted to see if he could clear things up.

"Yeah?" Hajime looked to Nagito.

"I just wanted to apologize I guess," Nagito chuckled a little, "I was unnecessarily rude on the island, and I-"

"You apologized on the island, it's ok Nagito..." Hajime said softly.

"What...?" Nagito bit his lip a little, "you're not mad? But I died, I left you behind, I made fun of you, I was horrible!"

"Yet you lied for most of it," Hajime said, "you were hiding your true feelings, right? You said it yourself in the warehouse and in your video, you still love me right? Or was that just a lie to make me go away?"

"I... of course I still love you Hajime... I just-"

"Komaeda, we need you," Nagito was interrupted, being let into an exam room.

"We'll discuss it later, ok?" Hajime rubbed Nagito's back softly.

Nagito nodded softly, "of course, thank you for coming with me Hajime..."

"No problem," Hajime smiled a little, entering with Nagito.

Nagito was sat down on an exam table while Hajime sat on a chair in the room. A doctor entered as well, introducing themselves to Nagito and shaking his hand.

"So what do you need to do?" Nagito asked the doctor.

"We just want to check on your health, and on that arm of yours..." the doctor said.

Nagito nodded, pulling his jacket off, "well I'll let you do what you must..."

The white haired boy wasn't unfamiliar with doctors poking and prodding at him. Though he hadn't needed to be examined in a while. The doctor was incredibly careful and precise as they examined Nagito, making sure not to miss a thing.

After the doctor had examined everything they had to, they moved onto Nagito's arm. They carefully picked his arm up, watching as his hand went completely limp. 

"Well... it seems that none of the nerve endings were attached, and that hand is beyond saving..." the doctor said, "we can amputate it, then once it's healed we'll look into getting you a prosthesis alright?"

"How soon can you get rid of it?" Nagito asked.

"We might be able to get it done later today, I can keep you updated on that," the doctor explained, "now, regarding your general condition, I'm probably going to need to see more than the others-"

"Because I'm terminally ill, correct?" Nagito felt a little bad for cutting the doctor off, but he'd had the same talk over and over, he knew it all already.

"Well I wouldn't say it's terminal..." the doctor said softly, "there may be a chance that at the very least we can treat the cancer."

"Huh...?" Nagito was a little taken aback. He chuckled nervously, "what do you mean by that doctor...?"

"With the right ressources, you could be treated for your cancer Komaeda," the doctor repeated themselves.

Nagito bit his lip. He'd never heard those words before, what did he do to deserve this? Why was his luck on his side for this? Was it because of all his unluckiness in his coma? Nagito gulped a little, this would bring him some bad luck too, right? This wasn't good, not at all, but the white haired boy just bit his lip and nodded. Maybe if he ignored acknowledging his luck, then maybe he wouldn't have to see the effects it would have on others.

"I'll contact you later in the day and see if we can deal with that arm ok?" The doctor said, letting Nagito get up.

"Yes, of course... thank you," Nagito said, before grabbing his jacket and leaving with Hajime.

"You ok Nagito?" Hajime asked once they were out.

"Hm? Oh, of course I'm fine Hajime, why do you ask?" Nagito looked to Hajime, smiling a little.

"You just... you didn't look too thrilled when the doctor said they could treat you," Hajime said softly.

"Oh really?" Nagito chuckled a little, trying to seem oblivious to it all.

"How about you come back to my room? Then we can talk in private..." Hajime gently wrapped an arm around Nagito.

The white haired boy just nodded as they walked along. Though Nagito didn't know why Hajime was being so nice to him. He hadn't even gotten a chance to apologize to the brunet in person out of the simulation, but it was like that shit never even happened. 

Once they made it to Hajime's room, the brunet let Nagito in and then sat on the bed, "now, talk to me."

"About what, Hajime?" Nagito chuckled a little, sitting down with the brunet.

"What's bothering you?" Hajime asked.

"Huh...? Oh, well..." Nagito looked off to the side, "first can I just apologize to you more formally? Like, in person and for real..."

"Go ahead..." Hajime nodded. He was already prepared to give Nagito another chance, but he'd hear him out.

Nagito took Hajime's hands, "I'm very very very sorry Hajime... I said so many things that I didn't really mean and it mostly came from my own selfish ideals and fears. But I know now that I have to work on myself, right? And I wanna do that, I wanna be able to be kinder and not a hypocrite," Nagito smiled a little, "though it's completely understandable if you don't want anything to do with me, I wouldn't want to either Hajime," he chuckled softly.

"Ah- Nagito, I don't want to leave you, don't worry..." Hajime said, squeezing Nagito’s hands gently, "I'm glad you want to better yourself and I want to help you..."

Nagito sighed and gently leaned onto Hajime, "you're very kind Hajime, thank you for giving me another chance..."

"Well you want to better yourself, if I was forcing you to better yourself then I wouldn't give you a second chance..." Hajime hugged Nagito gently, "now... do you wanna talk about what went on with the doctor...?"

"Well... I was told I was gonna die before I even attended Hope's Peak Academy, and now I'm able to be treated, quite the stroke of good luck, right?" Nagito sighed, "I just... I don't want to hurt you or anyone else because of my bad luck..."

"But... you'll be able to live," Hajime said.

"What's the point if I have to hurt others to give myself a chance?" Nagito chuckled.

"Well it's no guarantee that it'll affect others..." Hajime held the white haired boy close.

"You're right..." Nagito smiled, "I should get out of here..."

"What? What do you mean?" Hajime tilted his head. 

"If I get out of here, if I run to the other end of the world, no one will be affected!" Nagito said, "it'd keep everyone safe, and you all could focus on rebuilding hope!"

"Nagito..." Hajime frowned, "I don't want you to go, I want you here with me..."

"You really want someone like me here? My, you're more masochistic than me!" Nagito held onto Hajime, laughing. It was the only way he knew how to respond, "I... I'm only going to hurt you Hajime! What are you doing here? Why are you letting me stay??"

"I... Because I love you Nagito!" Hajime grabbed Nagito's shoulders and pulled him back, making sure they were both looking at each other, "I don't want you to go away Nagito... and I have good luck too, right? If we're both lucky, then my good luck might be able to cancel out your bad luck right?"

"How can you be so sure Hinata-kun?" Nagito tilted his head. He hadn't called Hajime that in a while, "you know by sticking by my side that it's basically suicide, right?" A small snicker escaped him.

"Nagito... I know you're scared, but I'm not going anywhere no matter what..." Hajime's face softened.

Nagito tried to keep on laughing, he could laugh off his sorrows if he tried hard enough. But it seemed that Hajime's words were slowly getting to him as his twisted smile slowly turned into a frown. Hajime moved his arms back down to Nagito's side, gently hugging him. Nagito held onto the brunet tightly, his laughter slowly turning into small cries. He just wanted to be happy without having to worry about hurting others. Hajime was quiet, just holding the white haired boy close.

"And if your luck doesn't protect you...?" Nagito mumbled, looking to Hajime.

"Then I'll still stay by your side, no matter what..." Hajime felt himself getting a little choked up. He hated seeing Nagito like this, especially when the white haired boy was practically begging for Hajime to go.

"You're insane..." Nagito wiped his eyes a little.

"Maybe, but I'm sure you don't want to go either..." Hajime leaned his forehead onto Nagito's, "am I right...?"

Nagito was silent, before nodding a little. Hajime held Nagito's cheeks gently, kissing his tears away, "we're gonna do this right this time, ok...?"

Nagito nodded once more, before taking Hajime's hands and pulling them off his cheeks, "I'm sorry... I'll do my best Hajime... I want to be better... for me and for us."

"Sounds good..." Hajime nodded, hugging Nagito softly.

Nagito returned the hug, a small smile appearing on his lips.

Hajime gently sat up, "now that I think about it... shouldn't we get you some food?"

"Ah, as long as it's not too much trouble Hajime," Nagito said, seeming to be back to his usual self.

"Of course it's not, let's go," Hajime took Nagito's good hand, standing up with him and heading out to the cafeteria. 

Hajime helped Nagito get himself a plate, then brought him to sit with the others. He was met with the same looks from Fuyuhiko, Akane, Kazuichi, and Sonia as he did before. Nagito just averted his eyes, looking to Hajime and the others. He knew he'd have to talk to them sooner or later, but maybe right now in front of everyone wasn't the best idea. He didn't want to risk anything starting in the cafeteria because of him. So he just ate quietly, listening to the adjacent conversations. 

Once he was done, he stood and looked to Hajime, "I think I'm gonna go check in with the doctor, see if they've got anything figured out."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Hajime asked.

"Ah, no it's ok Hajime, I think I'll be ok," Nagito smiled softly.

Hajime chuckled a little, "just don't get lost, ok?"

"Mhm!" Nagito nodded, then headed off.

Nagito had a pretty good idea with where he was going, so he didn't have much trouble on his own. Once he got there, he ran right into the doctor. Well, just his luck.

"Komaeda, I was just looking for you," the doctor said.

"Ah, well that's good, are you able to get rid of this wretched thing attached to my arm?" Nagito asked.

"Yes, I've spoken with some other doctors, we can amputate it today," the doctor nodded, walking with Nagito.

"Amazing, how soon are we able to?" Nagito smiled.

"We can start getting you prepped," The doctor said, bringing Nagito into a room. 

"Could you let Hajime know? I just don't want him to worry about where I've been for a while," Nagito chuckled softly.

"Of course, I'll get to that while you change into a robe," the doctor said, before leaving Nagito in the room.

Nagito sighed softly as he got himself unchanged, but he stopped when he reached his jeans. He hoped he could do this with just one working hand, and wouldn't need to call for help. That'd be pretty embarrassing, he thought, sitting down and giving it a go. With a little bit of twisting in his spot a leaning forward, he eventually got them off.

Nagito sighed and picked up the robe he had, then pulled it on. He just double knotted the robe, then sat down and waited for the doctor to return. 

When they did, they brought Hajime too. 

"Oh? What brings you here Hajime?" Nagito smiled softly.

"I just wanted to see you before you go," Hajime said softly, going and sitting with Nagito.

"Well, you're basically the ultimate everything, if you really wanted to you could just do it yourself," Nagito chuckled softly.

"I guess, but they've got a bunch of doctors here already, I bet you'll be fine," Hajime wrapped an arm around Nagito.

"I'll get to see you after, right?" Nagito asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure I will," Hajime nodded, "it's pretty late, so I'll come by in the morning."

Nagito smiled softly, "can I have a hug before I leave Hajime?"

Hajime smiled softly and hugged Nagito as he asked, then offered a small kiss on the cheek, "I'll see you in a bit, ok?"

"Yes, I'll see you later Hajime..." Nagito said softly.

Hajime walked Nagito out, then they parted ways in the hall. The brunet smiled a little as he went back to his room, finally everyone was awake. But he stalled a little, well, not everyone. He thought, sighing softly. He wished he could've done something, anything for her to return to everyone. But sadly despite his talents, he was hopeless in bringing her back. It wasn't fair, everyone else was allowed to live, but why Chiaki? Why did Junko have to choose her if all people? No, Hajime knew why, it was horrible what Junko done. The brunet shook his head, before picking up his pace towards his room. He just needed to sleep this off.

He sat down on his bed, yawning softly and finally settling down. He laid on his side, grabbing a pillow and holding it close. Hajime curled up a bit, soon he'd be able to hold Nagito close. Soon they'd get to sleep and cuddle together again. Soon he'd get to help Nagito again after he's somehow found a way to trip and fall in the middle of the night. It'd be back to normal, right? Well, no, but Hajime hoped it'd be close enough. 

Hajime was able to sleep rather peacefully that night. Despite all of his thoughts circling his mind, a wave of exhaustion had hit him as soon as he settled down. But now that the day was fresh, the brunet was ready to go. He got out of bed rather quickly, grabbing his things and getting changed as fast as he could. Then he headed out the door, heading straight for the medical wing.

On his way, he ran into the doctor again. Good timing too, "Ah, do you know where Komaeda is?"

The doctor nodded, before turning around back to where they came from, "yes, I was just going to look for you, he's resting right now.."

"Did everything go well?" Hajime asked, following the doctor down the hallway.

"Yeah, he seemed quite pleased when he woke up and I'm sure he'll be even happier to see you," the doctor said, letting Hajime into the room where Nagito resting.

The brunet quietly thanked the doctor, then walked over to where a sleeping Nagito laid. He sat down on the bed gently and rubbed the white haired boy's side, not too hard to wake him, but just enough to cause Nagito to curl up towards him. While the pale boy slept, Hajime looked down, gently taking the boy's left arm. He was careful not to touch any of the bandages area, but Hajime just examined it quietly until he heard a tiny groan.

"If you wanted to look at it you could've just asked me..." Nagito mumbled, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you," Hajime said softly.

Nagito chuckled softly, sitting up a bit, "oh you don't have to worry about me Hajime, I was looking forward to seeing you anyhow..."

"Well, that's good..." Hajime smiled, "I don't imagine you'll have to stay here too long, right?"

"No, the doctor is just gonna check my arm later and then I can leave," Nagito said, "but you'll stay, right?"

"Yeah, of course I'll stay," Hajime nodded, "but could I maybe take a closer look?"

Nagito nodded, sitting up all the way and letting Hajime see his arm. The brunet gently held Nagito's forearm, quietly examining the bandaged area. He didn't want to take the bandages off yet, so he just examined what he could. 

He smiled softly, "seems like it went well like the doctor said."

"Yeah, I'm just glad it's gone," Nagito smiled, "even if it got grossly infected, I'd just be satisfied that it's gone..."

"Well it's gone and not infected, so that's a plus," Hajime chuckled a little.

"Of course, it must be my l-" Nagito stopped himself though. It shouldn't have been good luck, it should've been bad luck. In fact Nagito was expecting for something to go wrong, what was his bad luck waiting for? He just wanted it to do whatever it had to, rather than drawing itself out and potentially hurting others.

Nagito then sighed, opening his mouth to rephrase what he was going to say, but the door opened and the doctor entered.

The white haired boy looked over, smiling again, "oh, hello there! Have you come to check on me?"

"Yes, it seems you've been expecting me," the doctor chuckled softly, moving over to the bed.

"Of course, I want to get out of here so I can see the others!" Nagito smiled, even though he was nervous to talk to them.

Hajime got up and moved out of the way, letting the doctor get to Nagito. The doctor removed the bandages, checking his everything over and making sure it was ok. After they seemed satisfied, they wrapped Nagito's arm again.

"Looks good, just make sure the bandages get changed and we'll get you a prosthetic when it's healed," the doctor explained.

Nagito nodded, "thank you doctor, I'm truly grateful for your help..."

"Ah, no need to thank me, I'll see you later," the doctor smiled softly, before leaving the room.

Nagito stretched out once the doctor left, then looked to Hajime, "shall we?"

Hajime smiled softly, "yeah, you need any help getting changed?"

"Would it be embarrassing if I said I did?" Nagito asked as he got out of bed.

"Well, if you had both of your hands maybe," Hajime chuckled softly, "but right now? Of course not." 

Hajime followed behind Nagito as he gathered his clothes. Once Nagito put his clothes on the bed, he untied his robe and slid it off. It was a little relieving to be back in his clothes again. Sure, he only had to wear the robe for less than a day, but his clothes were much comfier. He pulled his shirt on without much hassle, but the issue came when he got his jeans on. The white haired boy managed to pull them on, but the button was an issue.

He looked back to Hajime, "could I have a bit of a hand...?"

"Yeah, I'm coming," Hajime chuckled, moving over to the other boy and buttoning his jeans for him. Then he grabbed Nagito's jacket and pulled it on for him, "there, how's that?"

"Thank you Hajime..." Nagito smiled, before pulling his shoes on, "do you know where the others might be?"

"Well, why don't we go look for them?" Hajime asked, opening the door for Nagito.

"That sounds great!" Nagito gulped a little though. He had to talk to everyone sooner or later, so might as well get it over with.

Though he pressed on, leaving the room with Hajime. They returned from the medical wing and started looking around, figuring eventually that they'd be in the cafeteria given the time. Both boy's decided to get some food and then they went to where everyone was sat. Nagito smiled a little, he was gonna be fine. That's what he told himself.

When he sat down he smiled, hoping that he'd be able to talk with everyone in a relatively peaceful manner if he approached it in a friendly matter, "good afternoon everyone!"

"Ah, hi Nagito!" Ibuki smiled, "where've you been?"

Nagito chuckled and held his left arm up, "just had to get rid of something, but I also would like to talk to all of you. Is that ok?" He asked, looking to everyone else.

It was quiet around the table, but Nagito soon received nods and approval from everyone. The white haired boy pushed his food away, leaning on his elbows, "I just wanted to take the time to apologize for many of the things I've done, most of it was the fault of some of my extreme views on my ideals and most of it was just purely me being disingenuous-"

"Then why'd you do it if you really didn't mean it?" Fuyuhiko asked, glaring at him. Nagito bit his lip a little, they were once friends, but now the white haired boy had effectively distanced himself from many of the people he could've considered friends, putting him back at square one.

"Well... I thought it was the right thing to do," Nagito chuckled softly, "I realize now that frankly it was a little stupid of me to sacrifice myself, but at the same time I feel like it helped you guys a little."

"Not just you sacrificing yourself, but everything else!" Akane interjected, "you blew up the lobby, you were rude to all of us, you- you're crazy!"

"Yeah, I'm aware..." Nagito chuckled softly, "but I'd like to try to better myself and I completely understand if you don't want anything to do with me, but I will admit that I was quite a bit happier when I knew many of you as my friends... but I will leave the decision to all of you whether or not you'd like to accept my apology."

It was quiet around the table. Everyone looked among each other, while a couple people looked to Nagito. But Sonia raised her hand after a few moments, speaking up.

"I would like to give Nagito a second chance!" She said, "I think he genuinely would like to change, so I think I'm going to give him a second chance."

"Ibuki too! Ibuki might not know about all of this stuff, but Ibuki will give Nagito another chance!" She smiled.

Fuyuhiko sighed softly, "if I see a change then maybe consider it."

Nagito smiled, "thanks for giving me an opportunity, I'll do my best to better myself!"

Nagito happily ate his food, knowing that he got through that with minimal fighting. Now he had to stay true to his words, and he didn't plan on going against them. He stood after he was finished his food, letting Hajime take his plate. Then he waved to everyone and headed off with the brunet. 

"Could I stay with you while you work Hajime? I could help you in any way I can," Nagito said, walking with Hajime down the long hallways.

"Of course, but you don't have to help with the work if you don't want to," Hajime said, taking Nagito's hand gently.

"Mm... I want to though," Nagito smiled, "I've heard that you have lots of work anyways, so I don't mind taking some of the workload off."

Hajime smiled softly as well, "well, I'm sure you'll be a big help, thanks for offering Nagito..."

"Ah, no need to thank me Hajime," Nagito shook his head, "I just wanna help."

Hajime brought Nagito to the little office area where he worked. He pulled up a chair for the white haired boy, then sat down with him. Nagito leaned on his hand, watching Hajime quietly. Hajime said he'd find something for Nagito to do, but for now they just sat together and enjoyed each other's company.

Though after a while Nagito was getting impatient. He stood up, getting behind Hajime and gently hugging him, "you're working too hard Hajime, let me do some too..." he whined softly.

Hajime sat back from his computer a bit, "I'm fine Nagito, trust me..." he said, gently caressing Nagito's cheek.

"No, you trust me Hajime..." Nagito said softly.

"You've only been awake for a day, you need to rest..." Hajime got up, gently hugging the white haired boy.

"I know, but I want to help you," Nagito said softly, "I know just from looking at you that you're stressed, I think you need a break Hajime."

"A break, huh...?" Hajime tilted his head, "then why don't we go take a break? Let's go on a walk then."

"Are you sure? What about your work?" Nagito asked.

"It's fine, we've got time," Hajime smiled softly, "plus, I've been able to get quite a bit done just with you being around, so thank you Nagito..."

"Ah, no need to thank me Hajime, I'm sure I was asleep for most of that anyways," Nagito chuckled softly.

"That doesn't matter, you still helped me out," Hajime rubbed Nagito's back gently, "so let's go take a quick walk, then if you really want to you can help ok?"

Nagito smiled a little and nodded, "Alrighty, if you say so Hajime!"

Hajime closed his computer and grabbed his suit jacket, it'd be pretty chilly outside so he wanted to stay warm. He looked to Nagito and moved back over to him, zipping his jacket up then giving the white haired boy a small smile.

"Just so you don't get cold..." Hajime said softly, then took Nagito's hand.

Nagito blushed softly, "thank you for being so considerate Hajime..."

"Don't worry about it, I just wanted to make sure you were comfy," Hajime smiled, then brought Nagito outside.

The two were outside in an enclosed space of the foundation, so they didn't have to worry about any outside threats. Hajime kicked the ground gently as they walked, they were pretty quiet, but that was ok. They didn't need to speak, just being together was enough. 

Soon enough, the boys found a quiet spot on one of the docks for the many ships Future Foundation owned. There were no ships docked, so all there was in front of them was water. They both sat down with their legs dangling over the edge. Then Nagito leaned onto Hajime's shoulder, sighing happily.

“Nice view?” Hajime asked.

“Mhm...” Nagito nodded, “but I’m just glad I’m here with you...”

“Me too...” Hajime smiled, “I was a little nervous while you were asleep, I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen to you... but now that I know you’re okay I’m so glad...”

“What all happened while I was asleep?” Nagito asked.

“Not much, I mostly just worked,” Hajime chuckled, “but I had you to keep me company...”

“Well I’m glad I could be of use even if I was unconscious,” Nagito smiled.

“I wouldn’t exactly put it like that, but it was just comforting that I had you as company,” Hajime wrapped an arm around Nagito.

“Hm..” Nagito nodded a little, “but what do we do from here? I know that everyone’s been working with Future Foundation, but will our reputations ever be the same? We may all regret it, but we’re still horrible people whether you like it or not...”

“Well, everything in the past has already happened and sadly we can’t change that,” Hajime sighed, “but... we have now and the future, and we have time to improve ourselves as the world is being rebuilt. So while I can’t say for sure, all I can say is that all we can do is move forward...”

“Can we do it together Hajime?” Nagito looked to the brunet, scooting a little closer.

“Of course, I never intended to without you,” Hajime smiled, gently taking Nagito’s cheek and pulling him close, kissing him softly. It was nice to feel Nagito’s lips again. They were surprisingly soft, and Hajime almost didn’t want to pull away. But they eventually did, pressing their foreheads together.

“Well... I look forward to our future together...” Nagito smiled. Finally everything was good, everything was happy. Nagito was finally at peace, knowing that everything was going right for once.

And both him and Hajime intended to keep it that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed reading this, I definitely had a fun time writing it! This is my first fan fiction that I actually finished, so I’m pretty proud!


	20. Announcement!!!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to come here to say that I’ve started the sequel to Marigolds in the Wind, and you can find it under my account called A Garden of Centaureas! I was a little nervous that I might’ve started the sequel a little early, but I was just really excited. I hope you guys enjoy the sequel!!


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